


Sides of Shadow, Sides of Unseelie

by Ashwattaman



Category: Yo-Kai Watch Shadowside, 妖怪ウォッチ | Yo-Kai Watch, 妖怪ウォッチ シャドウサイド
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Humor, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery, supernatural mysteries, teen drama
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-05-11
Packaged: 2019-10-30 15:32:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 42,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17831273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashwattaman/pseuds/Ashwattaman
Summary: The year is 2040, peace having graced the worlds of both humans and yokai for several decades. However, it seems a threat once thought lost to ancient history is returning, and one such known as Natsume Amano is going to have to join hands with the yokai of the east we know, and ones of the west that have been hidden for millennia...





	1. New Juniors, New Elders

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, it's me again! This time I bring in a long fic, which was something I wasn't going to do on this account, but I've noticed there's a few more Shadowside fans here, so I figure I'd deliver a treat for everyone here. c:
> 
> However, I have a few important notes I would like to state before getting started
> 
> 1\. This, like most of my fics, is in a continuity separate from the games, anime, and manga.
> 
> 2\. While this could be considered a sequel to another one of my long fic works, Reflections of the Magical Watch (which can be found on Fan Fiction dot net), reading that story is completely unnecessary to enjoy the story here. Most of it is a few small references and cameos, which will mostly be explained as we go to fit this universe.
> 
> 3\. This body of work has one of the major characters in it have ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), which can be a complicated disorder to represent. I have it myself, and I can't say my depiction will be accurate to everyone with ASD so please take it with a grain of salt and understand I have done my best.
> 
> 4\. This is a work of fiction, all characters in it are fictional and are not based on anyone living or dead.

The year was 2040, many years had passed since the escapades of a young girl and her spectral friends. That girl was now a woman, but despite her becoming older, yokai remained.

You see, yokai are spirits, often mischievous, and reside in their own realm called the Yokai World. Though, plenty of yokai make their way over to the human world to cause trouble, and can present themselves to any human they want, or remain hidden. No need for a special watch to see them, all a matter of fate.

There's still plenty of mystery about the yokai, perhaps ones that stay far away from humanity...but for now, we have a tale to unfold…

It all begins one late night, several trucks and carts began to unload in a park just outside of a suburb of Tokyo known as Sakura Motomachi. The trucks all seemed to surround a giant retro styled circus tent. Not a light seemed to shine within, as something uneasy seemed to be brewing.

"Alright, let's take these four fallen souls, oozing with grudges and regrets..." A voice that carried deception in every word said, overlooking a giant cauldron that radiated with an eerie green glow. As each of the souls went into the cauldron, puffs of smoke appeared, until an object finally manifested from the smoke. "...And I've done it! I've made the key that will bind the resurrection together!"

"...How will some fancy arm toy benefit me?" Another voice responded in the shadows, being cold and unkind.

"Simple, we have to find a human host who will use it and contaminate the human population from within," The first voice answered back. "And I just know how..."

The first figure snapped their fingers, another shadowy being making their appearance. However, they were a bit easier to make out, being a long shadowy figure with black, tattered robes decorated with piercing yellow eyes.

"Yes, Boss Shiki-Sharu?" The shadow asked in a deep yet slimy tone of voice.

"Take my newly developed creation, the Kigan Gear, and go find a human oozing with enough misery that they can spread the Onimaro Virus all across this city, then the country, and then...the World!" The mischievous yet dastardly voice of the first shadow, Shiki-Sharu, explained to his henchman.

"Boss, I can't exactly physically manifest myself, especially in broad daylight," The cloaked shadow began to explain, Shiki-Sharu rasing his barely visible, lanky finger at his underling.

"Don't worry, I've prepared for this occasion..." Shiki-Sharu responded, looking over at the other shadow. "Jibunkageki! Bring over one of the cages!"

"I suppose..." The colder voice, Jibunkageki, responded, something very large seeming to manifest from under the shadowy figure. The dim reflections of several bars could be seen, as the small but effective figure of Shiki-Sharu leapt all across the cages…

"Hmm...Which one is most suitable for my dearest Onimaro Commander..." Shiki-Sharu muttered to himself, before picking up the smallest cage there was "Aha!"

"I was promised candy, you big meanie!" The voice from the smallest cage spoke back in a childish tone, rather frustrated with the evil yokai.

"Oh you'll get your candy..." Shiki-Sharu taunted, literally tossing the cage to the cloaked figure known as Onimaro Commander. "Here! Take them!"

"Yes boss-" Onimaro Commander tried to say, only for the Kigan Gear to be thrown at them as well, with Shiki-Sharu saying "Take this as well!"

Knowing that they were ready, the shadowy figure was off, with the Kigan Gear and the mysterious caged creature out of the tent, seeming to merge with whatever was inside…

 

* * *

 

 

"Coming soon to Sakura Motomachi! The greatest show on earth for both young and old, the Tanoshi Brothers Circus! Pre-order your tickets right now so you don't-" A loud voice from a television commercial came early in the morning, before being clicked off and turned to a much more quiet and less octane sounding news channel, but then switched to a more cheerful advertisement for a children's card game called Lightning Speed Age. Several names of the monsters, including the new, more powerful ones such as Burning Dragon, Blizzard Wolf, and the new Reaper Gryphon were shown off.

The sound of the television came within a very lonely looking apartment, where a saddened looking young man was getting ready for the day, all by himself. His hair was a blue like ocean waves struck with moonlight, and his deep brown eyes radiated with a lonely heart. The boy didn't say a word, as getting ready all on his own was very normal for him, it would shock him if someone was there.

Especially since he was reading a text from his mother, saying how she and the boy's father both had to work overnight and probably won't be home tonight either, so ordering pizza would be okay. The news didn't seem to phase the boy either, almost as if this was the norm for him.

It seemed he didn't notice the large looming shadow from his window, yellow eyes piercing at the boy from afar. Though, it seemed tricky to try and get the boy's attention...But then an idea struck in the shadowy figure's head.

The shadow phased right through the walls and formed into a book that sat on the dining room table.

Grabbing his book bag, the boy was about ready to leave, but through some dark magic, the doorknob sent a small shock, that left him jolting backwards.

"Ghh!" The boy stammered, starting to fumble backwards until getting more close to where the book was.

"Open...Read...Me..." An ominous voice called out, a dark energy seeming to call the boy forth. Taking note of the dark tome, the blue haired boy slowly and cautiously walked over to the book, reaching out for it before finally opening it.

Once the book was opened, it began to shift around and transform into a near direct replica of the Reaper Gryphon shown on the television. The dark, evil half bird, half lion beast looked down at the boy, somehow managing to fit into the apartment without knocking anything over.

"W-Who are you?" The boy stammered in shock. "Since you can't be..."

"But I am….Reaper Gryphon, and your friend," The shadowy voice of Reaper Gryphon spoke up to wipe away any of the boy's denials.

"F..Friend?" The boy asked rather confused, tilting his head to the side. "But...Your card hasn't even been released yet, and you were shown for a few seconds in last week's preview in the anime..."

"That's besides the point...Touma Tsukinami..."Reaper Gryphon answered back, giving a stronger, more sinister glare back.

"H-How do you know my name!?" The boy, Touma, responded in shock to the large evil being.

"I can see into your heart, able to see all the delightful darkness within," Reaper Gryphon gave their answer to Touma. "I can sense all that darkness spawned from decades of loneliness, and I can help you make your wishes come true..."

Touma was shook by what the sinister beast knew about him. But, the sad thing was, it was all true. His parents were always busy with work, people tended to not even notice him, let alone reach out for friendship...

Reaper Gryphon held out one of their front legs, extending their sharp talons in a sinister shake of friendship. "Now, will you be my friend? You'll be less of a shadow, and more of a dark lord everyone will have to notice!"

Touma was slightly hesitant at first, before reaching his hand out to the evil being. The moment his hand touched the begin's talons, a dark aura began to cling around his left arm, before revealing itself to be a blue and black device with silver horns and a big yellow eye, and a claw grasped around Touma's arm as opposed to a traditional strap.

"The Kigan Gear seems to have accepted your dear, dark heart..." Reaper Gryphon commented, pleased that the device had accepted a host.

The large beast unfurled their large crow-like wings, teleporting the two outside of the apartment complex. Reaper Gryphon then grabbed Touma and put them onto their back.

"Wait, where are we going now?" Touma asked, Reaper Gryphon starting to run before taking off.

"To my leader, my master...They'll teach you the ways, I have things to take care of in this city myself first..." Reaper Gryphon finished, starting to fly into the air, becoming a streak of shadowy black across the daylight sky…

 

* * *

 

Later in the same day, a rather sunny girl started to briskly walk her out of school as the final bell rang for the day. She had brown hair tied into two braids, and brown eyes that glimmered with the sunlight.

 

"Today was pretty great so far, even if it was kinda average," The girl cheerfully said to herself. "Then again a lot of things seem to be ordinary for me, but that's okay, at least I wasn't late today!"

"Or trying to save people and animals falling from trees or tall structures, Natsume," Another girl said, having shorter, fluffier mute blonde hair.

"Well, I kinda can't help it Saki," The brown haired girl, Natsume, responded with a bit off put from her friend's comment. "I just can't let people sit there when they're in danger, you know?"

"Yeah, I can see that," Saki stated with a shrug. "Didn't you nearly fall to your death a long time ago?"

Natsume paused for a brief moment, remembering the moment in time. It was so long ago, it was pretty hazy...But she distinctly remembers being up in a tree with a cat, and a branch broke off and she nearly fell to her death a long ways down. Then...Something saved her...the wind might've blown just right to save her? It was a hard thing to recall…

"Mhmm," Natsume answered after remembering, getting out something that looked like a key, but rusted with age. "This was there when I was brought to safety, it's sort of my lucky charm!"

"You know for someone with a painfully average life, you seem to have some odd quirks," Saki remarked, the two girls laughing it off for a bit as they walked home, unaware of the shadows that seemed to loom nearby.

 

* * *

 

 

_Deception and Lies...Uncaring and Selfishness...Violence and Wrath...Doom and Demise…_

_These things will being about the fall of all that live...as it radiates in every single living being…_

_...All will succumb and become a demon...Light will fade from the face of every world…_

_...That is merely fate..._

It was a vision of darkness, and a vision of ominous words. Such a horrifying sight struck the mind of another boy, focusing on spiritual related practices. He had spiked brown hair and a soft appearance to him, donning special ceremonial robes for this occasion.

There was only one thing that summarized his reaction towards such a vision.

"Grandma! Holy f-" The boy about screamed as he slid open a door, only for an old woman to get up and gently wack him with her walking stick.

"Akinori! You should know better than to use such language," The old woman scolded, Akinori rubbing his head where he was whacked. "Shouldn't you be spiritually training yourself?"

"I know but grandma, listen, I had a crazy vision when I was training!" Akinori tried to explain. "It was vague stuff, but it was about how darkness is going to consume all of us!"

The elder woman stroked her chin in thought, turning her head to the side a little. "Really? I swear these kind of world ending darkness things happen every few years it seems..."

"I suppose we'll just have to confirm that vision of yours..." Akinori's Grandma finished, leading the boy into a room with several old books and a small table with a mystic crystal ball in the center.

Peering into the ball, it was clear for a moment, before spilling in with darkness in a similar manner to dark ink being dropped into a bowl of clear water. The aura was clearly very threatening and menacing, leaving both of them quite shocked.

"So it seems it wasn't just a nightmare..." Akinori's Grandma commented on the matter, her usually closed eyes opening a little in shock.

"Well, do you have any ideas on how to prevent this nightmare from becoming a reality?" Akinori asked the old woman, the latter going back into a train od deep thought.

"Legends tell of a pure heart using a magic light mirror...Wait...that's sort of the wrong one...There's a lot of stories about people using magic mirrors to defeat evil..." Akinori's Grandma started to prattle on about. "But there's one that's been lost to time it seems...The Elder Bright Light Mirror..."

"Elder Bright Light Mirror?" Akinori questioned, a bit thrown off from the amount of words. "Isn't that something old people use?"

"Yes it's what we old timers used to search for things in the dark..." Akinori's Grandma began in a light hearted manner, before getting her serious look back and gently thwacking Akinori on the head with her walking stick. "Of course not! It's a mirror crafted by yokai since long lost to time! Myths say it's slumbering and will emerge when the time is right..."

The two looked back at the crystal ball, to see among the darkness, a small glimmering spark of light. A little star trying to shine among the dark night sky…

"I'm starting to sense something..." Akinori commented, his grandma giving a nod.

"I can feel it too, seems there might be hope somewhere, and in this city too..." Akinori's Grandma responded, Akinori starting to stand up and walk out.

"Wait, Akinori, where are you going?" Akinori's Grandma questioned him, starting to slowly get up as well.

"I'm going to try to figure out what this spark of light is that I can feel is!" Akinori answered, looking quite confident in himself. His old woman came over and handed him something.

"If you're going out, you may as well need this just in case," Akinori's grandma commented on, handing the boy a small yellow jewel with a heart inside. "It's the lucky charm of our family's guardian, so it should keep you safe..."

"Gotcha! Hopefully nothing too bad will happen!" Akinori said his goodbye for now, starting to run as fast as he could out the door and trusting his senses. Just what was this feeling? What was it going to lead to? It couldn't be explained by words, but only by emotions and instinct…

* * *

 

Things were going normal for Natsume it seemed, she was starting to walk her way back home, back to her mom, dad, and younger brother. Though, on her road home, things seemed to be a bit astray.

"What the..." Natsume thought aloud to herself, noticing a blur in a fancy suit whiz right on past her. The body language seemed to suggest the finely suited man to be distressed.

"Excuse me, sir? Is something the matter?" Natsume asked the man, only to realize he wasn't a man at all. He didn't have legs, for starters, and instead had a whispy black ghost tail. Upon turning around, he didn't have a human face either, one that seemed a bit eerie, yet dignifed. At least it confirmed Natsume's assumptions of him wearing a nice tuxedo…

"Hmm? Oh dearie me, I keep forgetting no matter how strong my yoki aura is, some humans can still see me," The dapper ghost commented, before getting back to the matter at hand. "And to answer the question, yes, something is quite the matter, but what's your name?"

"I'm Natsume Amano," Natsume introduced herself, trying hard not to be taken off guard by the spectral being. He was quite polite, yes, but a bit spooky for lack of a better word.

"Amano, eh? Something about that seems familiar...perhaps in a differing place and time," The ghost pondered, before clasping his hands together with a shocked look on his face. "Goodness where are my manners? I'm Whisper, yokai of the Uwanosora tribe and finest butler in all of the yokai world!"

"As for what's troubling me," Whisper began to finally give Natsume the answer she was seeking. "I've been tasked to being the butler for a particularly young and mischievous yokai who has run off quite recently."

"Oh dear, so someone you've been a nanny for has run off? What's their name, I'll try to help," Natsume responded to Whisper with genuine concern.

"Butler, not nanny," Whisper corrected the girl, before getting back to his original point. "But, the yokai I was tasked in taking care of is one such known as Junior. He's a like a little round ball with one ear a whisp and one ear a cat's."

"So..." Natsume began, going over to a nearby garden with a red glass gazing globe. "Kind of like this?"

Whisper was quite shocked upon seeing the red orb, instantly grabbing it. "Yes! Like that! He can also shape shift, so this could be him!"

"That does sound like a lot of trouble," Natsume responded, Whisper tapping away at the glass orb.

"He seems to be fast asleep, which is unusual since he's usually bursting with energy," Whisper remarked, seeming to be in deep thought.

"Maybe we need to wake him up? Maybe with a food bribe?" Natsume suggested, Whisper nodding.

"Of course, that's what I was going to suggest myself," Whisper responded, holding up one finger into the air. "His favorite snacks are chips and chocobars, so if we can get a hold of those, we might have found Junior!"

"Got it, I know the convenience store might have some," Natsume added in, Whisper looking delighted. "We can stock up and get Junior up and back in your hands!"

The two gave a nodding agreement, the wispy ghost starting to follow Natsume in the direction of the convenience store. Everything seemed fine…

Note the "seemed" part, since some things weren't quite right on a similar path.

Nearby, Akinori was still trying to figure out just what the vision he had meant, looking around a pretty average looking street for answers. Being a magic user, some things should just be clear to him, right? Though the magic user did note that there was indeed some kind of mystical presence nearby…

It just wasn't a good one.

"Human magic user..." A chilling voice called out to Akinori, the latter turning to see the horrifying presence of none other than Reaper Gryphon.

"Oh hey! You're that guy teased for next week's episode of-" Akinori commented in awe, the gryphon unfurling their large black wings as they took up a stance.

"Silence!" Reaper Gryphon roared with anger. "I have little tolerance for fools..."

Reaper Gryphon then started to sharpen their talons a bit more, getting ready for a strike. "...And I have even less tolerance for those who use magic for goodwill!"

Before Akinori could even try to quip something about the evil half bird half lion, Reaper Gryphon was already charging at him at full force, talons being bared and ready to slice the poor boy's face off.

With a swift duck, Akinori thankfully barely managed to dodge the oncoming beast. Now he had to be quick since at any moment Reaper Gryphon could be turning back around and make sure he was dead meat this time.

"Alright...Gotta focus..." Akinori thought aloud to himself, swiftly making a star-like shape with his index finger. The star-like shape began to glow a bright green, before the magic using boy threw it at the evil yokai.

Upon being stricken with the magic star, Reaper Gryphon found himself bound by the star-like shape, unable to fly or run.

"You! Foolish pig faced human!" Reaper Gryphon screeched in anger, trying to break free. "How dare you not even fight!? Coward!"

"Hey now, this 'foolish pig faced human' managed to put you in your place," Akinori quipped back at the evil yokai. "So I wouldn't be throwing cheap potshots like that if I were you."

Though Akinori didn't have much time to celebrate, as it seemed the magic barrier was slowly weakening, likely due to the yokai's sheer power. This was probably a good time to go ahead and book it.

"Alright I think now we just have to take a turn here..." Natsume instructed with Whisper at her side, unaware of the chaos that was right around the corner.

Natsume's blissful unawareness was soon interrupted by a fearful Akinori crashing right into her at alarming speeds. Upon the crashing encounter, both teens let out a loud "ow!".

"Sorry, didn't see you there!" Akinori hastily apologized, rubbing his face from where he slammed into Natsume. The girl just looked puzzled and confused.

"Who...Who are you?" Natsume asked curiously yet cautiously. It seemed quite a lot of strange things were happening to the average girl today…

"I'm Akinori Arihoshi, one of the families of magic users that protects from spiritual evils!" Akinori quickly introduced himself, though with a tone that was a bit too fast to understand.

"What was that?" Natsume asked, a bit too stirred to really understand the boy's fast and breathy words. "Your name is Akihiko, right?"

"No it's-" Akinori tried to correct, only to be interrupted by a loud, angry roar. A black shadow started to get closer and closer to the group.

"Let's run!" Akinori stated in shock, about ready to run at any second now.

"Well, Let's Run, I'm Whisper, and this is Natsume," Whisper introduced himself and Natsume properly.

The happy atmosphere didn't seem to last for very long, as Reaper Gryphon appeared once more, seeming to be very angry and displeased.

"Oh, it seems you have friends with you..." Reaper Gryphon commented, furrowing their eyes. "...How utterly pathetic that you have to rely on others as well..."

"I just met these guys!" Akinori quipped back at the evil beast.

"W-What is that thing?" Natsume questioned, shocked at the horrifying sight in front of her.

"It seems to be a-" Whisper tried to explain, getting out his Ypad to view information. Reaper Gryphon was enraged, swooping in and grabbing Whisper with their razor sharp talons.

"Hey you utter fiend! Put me down, this suit is custom tailored you know!" Whisper yelled, struggling to hold the garden ball he thought was Junior. The speeds Reaper Gryphon was flying at made it nearly impossible, before the red orb was dropped.

"Natsume! Quickly catch-" Whisper tried to yell, only for the speeds the red garden globe was going at thanks to the strong gusts of eerie wind Reaper Gryphon left behind to caused it to break midair.

"JUNIOR NO!" Natsume and Whisper both gasped in horrifying shock. It seemed the yokai Whisper was watching over was a lost cause…

...Or rather it wasn't entirely, as while the glass orb shattered into nothing but fine dust, there was something inside it.

Whatever this mysterious object was, it gravitated to Natsume and attached itself to her. This object took the form of a white and gold watch with a large keyhole at its base. The actual watch part seemed to have a cover that could only be opened when something is inserted into it.

"Woah...That was in a garden ball?" Akinori commented, trying to get a hold of Natsume's watch. However, it seemed to be firmly contracted to her.

"W-What the?!" Natsume gasped, confused and puzzled about the wrist-watch like object. "What is this!? What's going on!?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Akinori remarked, getting out the yellow jewel his grandma gave him. "But maybe this might help?"

The moment the yellow orb touched Natsume's fingers, it began to transform into a key like object. Once it solidified, Natsume began to focus, inserting the key-like object and turning it clockwise. A gentle voice saying "Light!" could be heard from the watch.

"Summoning! Come out my friend..." Natsume began, focusing with all her heart as she held the key object over the open watch face. "...Ruby!"

It didn't seem to work, as absolutely nothing had happened.

"I think you might've pronounced it wrong..." Akinori quipped, Natsume rubbing the back of her head.

"Sorry, I'm still a bit thrown off, I'm not used to these weird things," Natsume apologized, before focusing again.

"Summoning! Come out my friend..." Natsume began once more, focusing even harder this time. "...Kyubi!"

This time, the summoning worked, and with a bright flash of light, a humanoid yellow fox yokai in a purple kimono had appeared, a stern look on his face.

"My, I wasn't expecting a fair lady to be accompanying one of the Arihoshi family members I protect..." The fox, Kyubi, spoke up, keeping a determined look on his face.

"Well uh...Kyubi, there's a bit of a predicament..." Natsume tried to explain, the fox holding up his finger.

"I can see that, with that shadowy beast trying to torment that fancy soft serve ice cream cone," Kyubi commented. "But for proper introductions, while my species name is Kyubi, my name is actually Seiya."

Without another word, the yellow fox yokai managed to shoot a large fireball at Reaper Gryphon, forcing the beast to come crashing down and let go of Whisper.

"Why you..." Reaper Gryphon remarked with a breathy huff in their voice. "I wouldn't expect a human to get a hold of the Elder Bright Light Mirror...let alone summon some fox that spews nonsense about love and justice!"

"I'm unrelated to that boisterous Kyubi you're probably thinking of," Seiya commented back calmly to the horrifying beast, before with a puff of smoke he changed forms from the looks of it.

Instead of being a fox humanoid, Seiya now took the form of a large nine tailed fox with fangs being beared and claws ready to strike down this beast with equal might.

"However, I do strongly believe in serving justice, for the love the family I serve and peace beyond the stars!" Seiya yelled, tackling Reaper Gryphon down on their back. Seiya let out a mighty howl right in Reaper Gryphon's face.

Reaper Gryphon didn't have much else to say, but did try to manage to use their large talons to strike down Seiya, now covered in a shadowy energy. The strategy worked, as Seiya was knocked off Reaper Grpyhon, but managed to quickly land back on all four of his paws.

"Seiya! Hang in there!" Natsume gasped, showing to be worried for the large fox. While it was clear he was still standing, Seiya seemed to struggle to stand a bit, as there were some visible slashes from Reaper Gryphon's talons on his legs…

Something seemed to click through Seiya's heart among hearing the concern from Natsume and her recent friend Akinori, as if their hearts were starting to bond. It might've been the first time they've met, but he could sense the feelings from the hearts of the two.

A magical aura began to glow around Seiya, radiating with fiery energy. Nine glowing orbs of red-violet energy began to appear around Seiya's tails, the large fox focusing.

"Nine Tailed Fire Soul!" Seiya shouted, the wisps of fire spinning and being flung right at Reaper Gryphon. All nine of the wisps hit Reaper Gryphon, the fiery energy stunning the large beast despite their attempts to blow it off. Then, the balls of flames promptly exploded into a large column of red-violet fire, enveloping the evil beast.

"H-How dare you! How utterly foolish you are to use such...Such power!" Reaper Gryphon screeched one last time, before something dark seeming to disappear back into the shadows. What was left behind was something much less intimidating, and much less large.

"Owie..." The small voice spoke, starting to float back up. Whisper looked relieved to see the yokai in question, as they perfectly matched his description of Junior.

"Goodness, Junior!" Whisper cried joyfully quickly scooping back up the small red orb yokai. "What on earth happened?"

"Jii-tan don't really remember much," Junior spoke up, trying to explain what happened. "Jii-tan just wanted to go to a circus that's in town and then...I don't remember anything..."

"A circus?" Natsume asked curiously. Junior looked a bit puzzled.

"...Who are you?" Junior asked, Whisper pinching his non-existent brow.

"I'll explain as it's quite the eventful one. But this is Natsume and Let's Run," Whisper informed.

"Actually it's Akinori..." Akinori properly introduced himself, Whisper giving a "my apologies" in response.

"Well, Junior, I think if we all come together we can try to help you out," Natsume offered. "I mean, Akinori has magic, Seiya is a powerful fox spirit, Whisper is a pretty competent butler...And I have a weird wrist watch..."

"That sounds like a smart idea, actually," Akinori agreed with. "With humans and yokai, we can try to solve the case of this crazy evil circus! After all you have the Bright Light Elder Mirror!"

"Bright Light Elder Mirror?" Natsume responded, looking at the wrist watch around her hand. "That's a bit of a mouthful..."

"Well, it is a watch..." Whisper began, inspecting the object.

"And it can call upon yokai..." Sieya added in.

"And Jii-tan hears an Elder in there!" Junior finished.

"So, how about we just call it the Yokai Watch Elder?" Akinori suggested, Natsume nodding.

"I agree, that is much less of a mouthful to deal with," Natsume thanked, shaking hands with the other boy, signifying their friendship. Noticing that, Junior jumped out of Whisper's arms.

"Let Jii-tan do the same with Natsume!" Junior happily stated, offering one of his very tiny hands to Natsume's. Upon having his tiny hand touch Natsume's a key like object with Junior on it manifested, and appeared in Natsume's hand.

"Is this a sign of our friendship…?" Natsume wondered, a bit thrown off. Junior nodded, though it was clear even Junior himself didn't really know what it was either.

Though while the day had ended for now with the sun setting, Akinori promised to get Natsume back on the same page tomorrow. There was a lot that needed to be explained, and a lot that needed to be solved as well.

 

* * *

 

 

Elsewhere within the shady circus tent, Touma was being looked at by the two shadowy figured from earlier, but making themselves a bit more clearer.

"Just how will this human boy benefit me?" Jibunkageki asked, unamused. It seemed her true appearance was that of a beautiful female opera singer, standing on a golden stage. Though, it seemed under the stage there was something malicious and evil.

"Simple really, his dark heart will make sure humans and yokai alike succumb to all their worst desires," The other yokai, Shiki-Sharu explained. His true appearance was much more staggering, being a monkey dressed in ring leader garb with a bit of an oni flair to it.

Touma was silent, Shiki-Sharu standing by the boy. "Isn't that right?"

There wasn't a response from the boy initially, before a monotone "yes" came from him.

"Good, I'm glad the Kigan Gear managed to find a good host!" Shiki-Sharu loudly cheered, only for a shadowy figure of the Onimaro Commander to return back to the circus tent.

"My apologies, boss," The Onimaro Commander apologized. "But it seems despite a good form with the host yokai you have given me, I was sadly defeated...By a group of humans and yokai, lead by a human girl with the Elder Bright Light Mirror..."

"What!?" Shiki-Sharu stated in horrified shock. "The Elder Bright Light Mirror is out in the human world!?"

"Seems like it..." The Onimaro Commander confirmed, Shiki-Sharu looking at Touma and frantically looking through his coat pockets.

"It appears it's going to be your time on stage next," Shiki-Sharu affirmed for Touma, handing him three black keys. "Use these, cause hysteria and fear among the human population in this town, or else!"

Touma simply nodded, holding the black keys in his hand. "I shall...Boss..."


	2. Playing All Alone

 

The next day had rolled around peacefully despite quite the long string of events that seemed to have followed the day before. Everything with the Yokai Watch Elder and encountering a powerful yokai, to meeting Whisper, Junior, and Akinori. It was all so strange and weird to such a painfully average girl like Natsume.

 

It was a nice and peaceful Sunday, meaning Natsume didn’t have to worry much about school for today, which was a good thing since she would need all the time she could get to get caught up from yesterday.

 

The two teen’s and their yokai friend’s meeting place was a shed by the shrine the Arihoshi family tended to. It was spacious and rather well decorated, but an odd choice it seemed at first.

 

“So in short, the Yokai Watch Elder I have was a mysterious mirror created by a lost tribe of people said to have close connections with a mysterious race of yokai?” Natsume concluded from the briefing she had gotten, Akinori nodding.

 

“That’s all correct!” Akinori confirmed for Natsume, only for the braided hair girl to have some questions.

 

“Aren’t yokai already mysterious?” Natsume asked, still a bit confused. Whisper floated on in, looking at his Y pad.

 

“Yes, but there’s a race of yokai far, far more mysterious,” Whisper began his little speech, before putting his Y-pad away. “They’re known as the Fae yokai, a race of yokai from the far west that don’t like interacting with humans, and aren’t even ruled by the Yokai King Enma himself, having their own rulers instead.”

 

“Huh, far west yokai...” Natsume thought aloud. “Wouldn’t they be like cowboys and superheroes and stuff?”

 

“Perhaps, it’s hard to say, nobody’s seen a Fae Yokai in eons,” Whisper answered with a sincere shrug. “

 

“That raises a good question, Whisper...” Akinori began to ponder, thinking as well. “If the Fae Yokai are such recluse yokai, how did one of their artifacts end up in our realm?”

 

“Good question I have to say,” Whisper gave an answer to the boy. “Perhaps something or someone ended up dropping it here by accident?”

 

“Possibly, but what could have caused something to have the Fae Yokai come out of hiding…?” Natsume wondered, not noticing Akinori was busy opening up something on a laptop on a nearby desk.

 

“You guys sure do like to talk a lot about stuff,” Junior commented, trying to get the last crumbs at the bottom of a bag of chips.

 

“Maybe Usuranura might have a thing or two on it...” Akinori spoke up as he spoke to himself, pulling up a slightly dated looking and sketchy website, but it seemed to provide a wealth of info. “They might have a post relating to it, or at least a clue.”

 

Natsume got up to look over Akinori’s shoulder, to further view the site in question and read along any posts. Most of them talked about weird sightings, but most were well over two weeks old and were mundane…

 

...Except for one.

 

“Hey, there’s a new post that was posted last night,” Natsume pointed out, looking at the title. “Hide and Seek Gone Absolutely Wrong”

 

Opening up the post, the full story could be seen, or at least, part of it.

 

_With yokai and whatnot being in our realm, I wanted to try the age old game of Hide and Seek By Yourself, a way to get into contact with spirits that are still hidden. Everything seemed to work, but something went wrong! There was a horrifying specter! Describing them just makes me uneasy, and they wouldn’t give the doll I used back! What am I to do…_

 

Below the post was a small bit of contact info, just an instant messenger client handle and an Email.

 

“Given this recent sighting, it might be best if we seek this person out and try to get an answer,” Akinori remarked with a nod, opening up the messaging client to reach out to this person. “Plus there’s only so much text can express sometimes, you know?”

 

“Right,” Natsume nodded, standing up as soon as she saw a location suggestion appear in the messages. “I suppose I could tag along for this case solving, right?”

 

“Absolutely, with the Yokai Watch Elder, this case will be solved lightning fast!” Akinori agreed, starting to make his way out, Natsume, Junior, and Whisper following behind.

 

* * *

 

 

Meeting at a nearby park, the group met up with the poster of the Usuranura post. They were a young girl, around Natsume’s age but not seeming to be in her class, as Natsume didn’t seem to recognize her at all.

 

“So...you want to know more about what happened with me...Yeah?” The girl shyly asked, still a bit shaken by the events. “You do seem like someone who can cleanse bad spirits...”

 

“Sure thing!” Akinori boldly answered, Natsume nodding slightly.

 

“And I’m...uhh...a friend! And I...can try my best at the very least!” Natsume added in cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood. The girl seemed to smile a bit, before giving a deep breath and getting to telling her side of the story in full detail.

 

“You see, recently a boy from my class had gone missing,” The girl began to explain her story. “Which is odd, since I never really noticed him until he was gone for extended periods of time, like a ghostly shadow...”

 

“So me and my friends thought he might’ve been an actual ghost that’s no longer living but not a yokai either...” The girl kept on going, getting more and more nervous. “Leaving us to go to an old house to try and play Hide and Seek Alone...Only to be haunted by a horrifying being! We went in one by one, but all came out screaming!”

 

“Do you happen to know the name of the boy in your class who went missing?” Akinori asked, being rather sympathetic to the situation.

 

The girl simply just shook her head. “No I don’t...He was always really quiet and never spoke up...I don’t think I’ve ever heard him talk...”

 

“Well whoever or whatever is giving you the trouble, we’ll put a stop to it,” Natsume reassured as best as she could, looking over at Akinori and Whisper. “Right?”

 

“Right!” Akinori responded, Whisper giving a hesitant nod.

 

“If you need to know, it’s that large old house between uptown and downtown,” The girl informed, starting a smile a bit now knowing someone was hopefully going to take care of the paranormal peril as the group was off with a small “thank you!” from everyone.

 

* * *

 

 

It would be hard to miss such an old and spooky looking house, but even then, it took the group a while to get there.

 

Before the heroic group’s arrival, someone was still within the residence, not being bothered by it but seeming to be a part of it almost.

 

That someone was Touma, the Kigan Gear still firmly attached to his arm and feeding off of his malice.

 

“Fueling off of everyone’s fear is the first step...” Touma thought aloud to himself, thinking in deep thought on an old armchair in the master’s bedroom.

 

“Do you feel anything?” A mysterious voice asked from the creeping shadows, having a bit of a playful feminine tone to it. “Didn’t those pests go to the school you went to? Isn’t it nice to pay them back for treating you like a shadow?”

 

Touma took a moment to respond, seeming to process the prompted question in his mind and his clouded heart.

 

“Yes, it’s quite satisfying, though I’d like people to know my name more...” Touma answered after a brief moment of pondering. “You scare them off a bit too soon.”

 

“My apologies, I’ll make sure someone can see you eye to eye and know your name before I give them the scarring of a lifetime, master,” The shadowy voice apologized, being interrupted by the sound of the front door creaking open and footsteps being heard slowly starting to walk in.

 

“Why not go greet our guests?” The voice suggested to Touma. “I hope they brought a good doll for me!”

 

The two seemed to walk down, having no idea who had entered the old abode.

 

Entering into the old house was Natsume, by herself with her comrades staying nearby but not following her inside. Seemed as by the moment Natsume entered inside, a magical barrier had been put up preventing Akinori or anyone else from entering.

 

For now, it was Natsume versus whatever evil lies within. She could at least run out if things got too dangerous. She took a tight grip to her Yokai Watch Elder, and with a slip of her thumb ended up activating a nifty light feature.

 

Unfortunately, that light feature came with a pretty loud sound, echoing throughout the old house.

 

“Shoot...Shoot!” Natsume cursed under her breath, hoping to have not alerted whatever being haunted this house, or possibly even more. She quickly darted through the house in a panic, trying to find somewhere to hide.

 

Thankfully for Natsume, she found one of the rooms, closing the door behind her as tightly yet as silently as she could.

 

It was a bedroom, one that might’ve belonged to a young girl given some of the old décor and mementos around. Storybooks about princesses and daring stories, some stuff about ballet too, though it was hard to see all in the dark. There was a second door, leading to a closet or possibly as part of a joined room, but it was locked up real tight.

 

“Okay...I think for now...I’m safe...” Natsume huffed under her breath, but was loud enough someone in another room could hear her.

 

“...Is someone there?” The voice of Touma asked, something luring him to the room adjoined with the one Natsume was in. They couldn’t see each other, leaving Natsume to believe different things.

 

“Are you the ghost that haunts this place?” Natsume asked, slightly unsure and on edge, but still wanting to know the answer.

 

There was a bit of shocking silence. To this girl...Was Touma just a ghost? A mere spirit stuck between the life of human and yokai, and ignored by both.

 

Feeling a tremendous amount of power in his warped heart, Touma ended up lunging his left hand covered in shadow to break down the door in a fit of rage.

 

“I am, not, and never will be a shadow!” Touma managed to raise his voice, bits of broken old wood flying and dust scattering in the air. Natsume didn’t manage to get a look at him initially, but once the dust died down, she did end up seeing the boy in question, the afternoon sun starting to appear through the clouds to give a clearer image of Touma.

 

And when she did, she felt something tug a bit at her heartstrings. Something recalled into Natsume’s mind upon seeing the boy again.

 

“No way...” Natsume gasped in shock upon seeing the boy. “You’re...you’re Touma, back in first grade, aren’t you?”

 

Hearing those words made Touma feel something different. Someone...remembered him? It was from years ago...But even then, Touma couldn’t remember who this was...Why did they know him?

 

“Who are you?” Touma responded back with another question, clearly a bit in denial.

 

“It’s me, Natsume, we were friends. We were never in the same class but...” Natsume tried to answer, but the boy used his dark magic to slam a nearby chair into the bedroom door.

 

“You’re lying!” Touma ended up being able to shout once more, making sure his voice could be heard to the girl. “Nobody ever, nor will they ever even care about me in the slightest!”

 

Natsume had never seen Touma act so violent and enraged before. What happened? What was going through his mind that lead him to this point? For the brief moments they knew each other, he was a good kid, making sure she wasn’t hurt or anything…

 

Alas, Natsume didn’t even have the chance to ask what happened, as she already started to notice something dark and evil starting to form and take to Touma’s side.

 

“Madame Cassee! Seize this...this lying fraud at once!” Touma commanded, the shadow making themselves a lot more apparent.

 

“Hehehe, I’ll do my best!” The shadowy figure said, revealing to be a yokai that resembled a broken porcelain doll. Her hair was completely wild, her once nice dress torn up, and the lower half of her face completely broken, leaking out a shadowy smoke. Her dress sleeves seemed to be long, so long that they formed into shadowy hands that had two bright scarlet orange blades sticking from them.

 

“Now, let’s stop playing hide and seek, and focus on tag!” The doll like yokai, Madam Cassee cackled, making the blades on her hands more apparent as she pointed to Natsume. “And you’re it!”

 

Knowing how the game was played, Natsume’s only option for survival at this point was running as fast as she could. She was thankful Touma had made the work easier for her by already breaking down the old bedroom door in his fit of denial fueled rage.

 

Thankfully Natsume was just a hair faster than Madame Cassee, the braided girl zipping up the stairs and finding a tucked away room to try and think things through.

 

“Alright...let’s just hope this thing will work...” Natsume spoke to herself softly and quietly, getting out the strange key Junior had given to her the other day. Quickly she unlocked the watch clockwise, the gentle voice saying “Light!” as she focused, but seemed a new part had started to click into her mind.

 

“Huh? Friend? What? Am I calling for an Uwansora, right?” Natsume began, spinning the arc around before focusing. “Summoning my friend, Junior!”

 

After the summoning call, the small spherical yokai made his appearance to Natsume’s side.

 

“...I didn’t say those words yesterday, this keeps getting really weird...” Natsume realized, Junior looking over at her curiously.

 

“So, whatcha needed Jii-tan for?” Junior asked, a cackling being heard as Madame Cassee met up with the two.

 

“That’s exactly why,” Natsume pointed out in the direction of the evil yokai, Junior crossing his tiny little arms with a bit of sass.

 

“Run, run as fast as you can!” Madame Cassee laughed with evil enjoyment in her voice. “You’ll all be caught, you’re no gingerbread man!”

 

“Oh yeah?” Junior responded with, transforming into a nice gingerbread man with a cat like face and a big red and white bowtie. He ran down part way down the stairs railing at fast speeds, before jumping off and kicking Madame Cassee in the back of the head.

 

“Agh!” Madame Cassee yelped in pain. “I thought the only thing gingerbread men were good for are running, jumping, and sliding!”

 

Junior stopped at the base of the stairs, giving a look of irritation in his baked good based form. “Well, don’t be such a big meanie, then!”

 

“Fine!” Madame Cassee huffed, holding out her hands. “If you wanna play dirty, I’ll play dirty!”

 

The doll-like yokai lunged down the flight of stairs at dangerous speeds, her strange orange claws bared and lunged right into Junior with a loud pop being heard as it echoed all throughout the old house.

 

“Junior!” Natsume gasped in horror, rushing down to grab the recently reformed yokai, now back in his usual small and round state.

 

“Oooof….Jii-tan couldn’t run like the gingerbread man that time...” Junior commented, a bit dazed as Natsume tried to run off from the evil specter, finding another room to hide themselves in, being a dusty old study from the looks of it.

 

“Now I think we have some time to try and think about how to take down Madame Cassee...” Natsume spoke in a low tone to her and Junior, the braided girl taking a seat in the old desk chair.

 

On the desk, there seemed to have been a short but sweet children’s book, a bit dusted and old but the contents still readable.

 

Opening the book, it told a simple but endearing story.

 

There was once a girl who looked horrifyingly tattered and monstrous, but she had a good and kind soul. People were cruel to her, but the animals around her were able to make her and a dashing prince meet. When the prince offered a dance with the girl, she transformed into a truly beautiful and stunning image that reflected her pure heart deep within.

 

“I think this is giving me an idea...” Natsume concluded, closing the old book. She looked over the Junior, who was trying his best to pay attention. “And I’m going to need your help.”

 

“Alrighty, what does Jii-tan gotta do, then?” Junior questioned, Natsume whispering the plan into his single feline ear and pointing over to the book. The red spherical yokai took a look, understanding the plan Natsume had given him.

 

“Come on! We’re playing all dirty and you run away!?” Madame Cassee angrily shouted, having busted down just about every door in the old house before finally getting to the study Natsume and Junior ran into.

 

“You’ll absolutely pay for being this big of a meanie!” Madame Cassee made sure the two could hear her threatening voice. Well, for as threatening as a young ghost girl could really sound.

 

The door to the study was busted open by the enraged doll yokai, only not to find Natsume nor Junior. Thankfully Natsume managed to keep herself absolutely silent in the study’s closet, and for Junior, well…

 

The round orb of a yokai was nowhere to be seen, but instead there was a beautiful doll-sized prince was sitting on the desk. He looked like he had sprang out of the book, with a dashing red coat and beautiful honey-brown eyes.

 

“Are...Are you a doll left in offering for me?” Madame Cassee asked, her voice being much more quiet and less screechy. “Those children who came by earlier all brought dolls...but they didn’t have what I was looking for in them...”

 

Madame Cassee rubbed the sides of her mostly broken head in confusion. “If only I could remember just what that thing was...I could say you have it...”

 

The prince doll was silent, but eventually started to move and float up to Madame Casse. He still didn’t say a word, just offering his hand gently and giving a look.

 

While silent, Madame Cassee seemed to have understood the silent language of the other doll in question.

 

“Do you...want to dance with me?” Madame Cassee asked, the prince nodding as she offered her hand. It was a bit awkward to hold at first, but things went smoothly from there on out.

 

From there on out, the two began to do a simple yet elegant ballroom dance on out of the study, Natsume eventually coming out of her hiding spot and slowly observing the two from a safe enough distance.

 

As the two kept on dancing and dancing, Madame Cassee felt something start to lift in her heart, something warm and fuzzy like spring days of an innocent and sweet past. Being with this mysterious prince, the dark feelings that were clouding up Madame Cassee’s heart were being lifted, before finally a dark aura had finally been lifted from her as the dance reached it’s near end.

 

“I think...I remember now!” Madame Cassee spoke up, a glowing light coming from her chest. “I remember what I was looking for!”

 

The shining light became stronger, before completely cleansing the dark aura around the broken looking yokai, revealing her true form. It was a bit hard to see in the dark house, but she looked like a much nicer doll with flowers in her hair and what looked to be large orange pixie wings from her back, resembling the blades she had in her original form.

 

“That feeling was that of love and joy!” The now purified yokai recalled, before looking around in the dark house. “...Oh dear, how did we end up here? Could we possibly go outside where there’s more sunlight?”

 

“Of course!” Natsume reassured, leading the way out. However, it seemed the magical barrier was still in place.

 

“Well that’s pretty inconvenient I’ll say,” The doll yokai commented, Junior stepping up to the aid of Natsume.

 

“Let’s show that barrier who the real boss is around here!” Junior commented, turning into a comedy sized mallet and putting himself right into Natsume’s hands.

 

With a mighty swing, the barrier seemed to break, reliving the group of being unable to escape initially.

 

“Well, that seemed to have worked,” Natsume remarked, slowly walking out the old house.

 

“Thank goodness it seemed my magic ended up working!” Akinori commented, confusing Natsume and her yokai friends.

 

“Huh?” Natsume questioned in quite the confused tone, giant mallet still in her hands. Akinori crossed his arms and smiled.

 

“To put it simply, I was getting worried with you taking a while, and I could hear quite a bit of hard hits going on in there,” Akinori began to explain thoroughly. “So I focused all I could to try and break the barrier with my magic.”

 

“Initially, I tried to see if there was a system I could hack into with my Y pad,” Whisper added in, before shrugging in defeat. “Unfortunately, hacking is quite the tricky process and I simply didn’t have time to learn such a thing in a short amount of time.”

 

“Seems it was all a matter of odd timing...” Natsume concluded, Junior turning back into his regular self.

 

“Oh phooey, I was hoping to break that barrier,” Junior complained, before Whisper came to pick him up. “Papa could have broken it easy peasy!”

 

“Now now, all that matters now is you’re here now,” Whisper commented, before noticing the doll yokai. “And that mysterious lady seems to have tagged along with you all as well.”

 

“Oh goodness,” The doll yokai noticed. It was clearer about her now, as she had nice curly and fluffy brunette hair and a nice but slightly tattered teal dress. She had fair and smooth skin with blush marks, large pointed ears and deep orange eyes.

 

“My name is Pixie, I hail from the Tsukumono tribe,” Pixie introduced herself properly, giving a nice courtesy to the group. “And I am a Fae Yokai.”

 

“Y...You’re a fae yokai!?” Akinori yelped in shock, Pixie looking a bit confused.

 

“That’s correct,” Pixie confirmed with a nod. “Though originally I was a porcelain doll from long ago, meant to be a gift to a baby girl. But, when that baby laughed, a new soul of a fairy fused with the doll and became the me you see now...”

 

Pixie ended up looking down a little. “However, I was forced to leave, as the parents thought I was now cursed and leaking with evil. All I wanted was to be a kind fairy godmother to someone...”

 

“Did that ever come true, as in were you able to find anyone else?” Whisper asked, Pixie shaking her head.

 

“Sadly no, us Fae Yokai have not been allowed to go to the human world for many years,” Pixie explained. “As when you go to the Fae realm, it’s nearly impossible to get out unless you’re very powerful and know your way around...”

 

Natsume reached out her hand to the saddened looking Pixie. “Hey, if you want to be my fairy godmother, I can let you do that if that’s okay.”

 

“R-Really!?” Pixie gasped in shock, nearly about to burst into tears. Natsume nodded happily, causing pixie to reach out her tiny hand for the human’s in joy. “I’m...I’m eternally grateful!”

 

Upon the two’s hands touching in friendship, another strange key like object appeared, having orange markings on it and a depiction of Pixie on one side, and a depiction of Madame Cassee on the other. Pixie then quickly noted the Yokai Watch Elder on Natsume’s hand.

 

“Oh! Seems you have the forbidden artifact...” Pixie gasped in shock. “A powerful mirror spoken as taboo in our circles, one that allowed humans and yokai to connect...How did it end up here…?”

 

“Forbidden...Artifact?” Natsume asked, before shaking her head upon hearing the last thing. “As for how it got here and why I’m given these key-like things, I don’t know, I really don’t.”

 

“Those keys are called Yokai Arcs,” Pixie explained as best as she could. “They’re the literal keys to a yokai’s heart, and with that mirror you can either call upon their good, more tame side or their eviler, wilder side.”

 

“So Lightside and Shadowside?” Whsiper asked politely to the little fairy, Pixie nodding.

 

“Or to us, we call it Seelie and Unseelie,” Pixie confirmed, before tilting her head a little. “Though how did you guys get such a thing?”

 

“I think it has something to do with as more time progressed in a world where most yokai and humans are joined hand in hand,” Akinori added into the explanation, rubbing the back of his head. “As it’s said what caused our worlds to have a clearer bridge to each other was a collision of a light mirror and a dark mirror some years ago...”

 

“But if Fae Yokai and humans can’t interact with each other easily, how did you end up here?” Natsume asked, Pixie looking confused.

 

“I’m not sure, I just remember minding my own business back home, when a dark shadow ended up taking me away...and I don’t remember anything beyond that...” Pixie tried to give her answer. “Last thing I remember was being in a dark cage in a dark tent, the only light I could see were from my own wings and two other Fae Yokai, one of the Mononoke Tribe and the other of the Omamori Tribe...”

 

“Don’t worry, we’ll help you save those other Fae Yokai,” Natsume assured for the little fairy. “And we’ll make sure whoever is behind this will pay for their actions of hurting your friends!”

 

Determined to help Pixie out, the group ended up calling it a day, now knowing they had a possible lead on the Fae yokai and the origin of the Bright Light Mirror. However, how this tied in with Touma and the Kigan Gear was still a mystery to the group, and one that needed to be solved.

 

Even if Natsume saw someone like Touma become so darkened in his heart, she was unsure about bringing it up right now. After all, he was a childhood friend and all, and she didn’t know Akinori and Whsiper prior. Maybe it was best to keep silent about the whole thing…

 

* * *

 

 

Elsewhere, back within the dark tent of the Onimaro Circus, the group of evil yokai looked pretty displeased, as Touma just sat on one of the seats from the ring.

 

“You absolute fool! You buffoon! How could you let such a thing happen!? I gave you such a good chance to keep hurting people but you lost that yokai I had given you!” Shiki-Sharu yelled loudly, causing Touma to wince a little at the sheer volume of the noise the angry monkey was making.

 

“I managed to scare off some rude classmates of mine,” Touma answered, trying not to be too bothered by the loud scolding of the monkey. “So I wouldn’t call it a complete failure.”

 

“Either way, these yokai are your chances,” Shiki-Sharu explained, holding up two more dark looking Yokai Arcs. “You’ve lost one chance, so now you only have two left.”

 

“And if you manage to lose all three...” Jibunkageki began, seeming to hold a whip tightly in her hands. “The Kigan Gear will make sure to pay the price for the greatest crime of wasting my absolutely precious time!”

 

“So don’t fail this time or next time, kiddo!” Shiki-Sharu yelled, making sure Touma could hear his words and feel them.

 

Touma only nodded, understanding what had to be done. Though with his encounter with Natsume, someone who could recall him from his youth, it left things feeling a bit off. It was just a minor feeling, and probably just mere paranoia, nothing to worry about.

 

Besides, he has to get back at those who wronged and refused to know him. He had to prove to this city and possibly the world he wasn’t an irrelevant shadow...

 


	3. West Side Cat Story

 

 

A new day, a new dawn as they say. Though, while Natsume was able to sleep peacefully the last night, something bothered Akinori so much that he had to make a phone call to the girl at the crack of dawn.

 

“Akinori, what’s wrong?” Natsume sleepily gave an answer, ending with a yawn. “It’s six in the morning...”

 

“Natsume! Last night there was some crazy weird stuff happening!” Akinori practically screamed through the other line, seeming to be borderlining on hysteria. “People were burning things that smelled like...meat...fish...milk...and some kind of plant I think? Saying weird stuff too.”

 

Natsume hastily got out a notepad and started to quickly jot this sort of thing down. “Yeah so people are burning meat, fish, milk, and some kind of plant? What kind of weird things are they saying?”

 

“I couldn’t really make things out, but it was something about big ears?” Akinori tried to explain, seeming a bit unsure. “Do you think you can come over soon?”

 

“Well, not soon,” Natsume responded sadly. “I have school today, but I’ll see if I can come by this afternoon, but mom says I might need to help around the house a bit today...”

 

“I see, I see,” Akinori finished the call with. “If you can, try to see if you can see suspicious activity around your school if possible, yeah?”

 

Natsume gave a sheepish “mhmm” before things hung up. Natsume decided it was best to keep that in mind, though it felt like many things were rushing through her head already today.

 

She couldn’t let those things weight her down today, she had to stay focused, and get ready for the day.

 

Thankfully nothing suspicious as Natsume got ready, headed out, and arrived. In fact, her morning classes went by pretty normally, aside from feeling a bit drowsy initially. Though, there was one thought that seemed to weigh Natsume throughout the day.

 

Encountering Touma yesterday, and thinking he might be the one responsible for Pixie becoming Madame Cassee, and who knows what to the other two fae yokai Pixie said got captured.

 

But what bothered Natsume the most was how did this happen? While they were friends for only a blip in time, she always wanted to try to be his friend. He seemed lonely, even hearing how his parents weren’t home a lot when she was young...But why was fate this cruel in not letting her help a fellow peer?

 

This feeling of doubt reached an all time high by the time lunch break happened. Her mind felt clouded as she tried to get her lunch and sit down somewhere to try to relax and focus.

 

All the doubt Natsume was feeling was noticed by a teacher, taking note of the girl’s soured look.

 

“Are you okay?” The teacher asked softly and kindly. She had dirty blonde hair tied with a green bow in a side ponytail and deep sea-green eyes, her face gently dotted with freckles and a gentle look on her face.

 

Natsume made sure nobody else was around, leaning in and whispering. “No...Can we go somewhere more quiet to talk this out...”

 

Giving a nod, the teacher lead the way, over to her office. It was a bit small, with a desk and a chair right across from it, and few boxes still needing to be unpacked. Of the few things out of the corrugated cubes were some photos and small plush animals and mementos.

 

“Sorry for the mess, I’m still fully transferring here,” The teacher explained, before nodding. “I’m Mrs. Suzuki, and I’m slowly moving to be a counselor here. You seem a bit familiar...”

 

“I’m Natsume Amano,” Natsume greeted, trying to stay upbeat, but it was clear what was bothering her was still deep within her.

 

“Huh, I think a vaguely recall such a name,” Mrs. Suzuki began to think aloud to herself. “I think you were the only children who really wanted to reach out to one of my students, right?”

 

Natsume was shocked at what Mrs. Suzuki had to say. “W...Was that student’s name Touma by chance?”

 

“Touma Tsukinami, yes,” Mrs. Suzuki answered with a nod.

 

“Were you his teacher or something?” Natsume asked, Mrs. Suzuki putting her finger on her chin in thought.

 

“Sort of,” Mrs. Suzuki answered Natsume’s question. “I’m actually technically a special education counselor, and despite how large this city is, Touma was really the only student I had to look after, all the way from First Grade until graduating elementary school. But seeing you so saddened, I couldn’t help but to lend out my hand...”

 

“Special Education?” Natsume asked, being a bit puzzled at what Mrs. Suzuki was saying. “You meant like a tutor?”

 

Mrs. Suzuki shook her head. “Not quite. Some people need specialized assistance because they simply function very differently than others, and Touma is one of those people.”

 

“So Touma’s disabled or something?” Natsume asked, hoping for an answer from the consuler. Mrs. Suzuki gave a hesitant nod.

 

“That is a term used that’s technically correct,” Mrs. Suzuki answered. “He has a fairly complicated disorder known as Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD for short, that hinders social abilities in particular.”

 

Mrs. Suzuki looked stunned as she paused for a moment.

 

“Oh dear I’ve completely gotten off track...My apologies...” Mrs. Suzuki commented to herself in shame, Natsume trying to assure Mrs. Suzuki it was okay with some simple hand motions.

 

“Hey it’s okay,” Natsume reassured, before looking a bit distant. “In fact, what I wanted to ask was about Touma since well...”

 

Mrs. Suzuki looked uneasy. “Did...Did something happen to him?”

 

Natsume was quiet for a moment. “Yes, I’m not sure how to explain it to adults like you, but he’s been missing for a few days as far as I know, and there was a dark aura around him and a strange thing on his arm...”

 

“And it...it was like his heart was sealed off from all that was good within...” Natsume concluded, Mrs. Suzuki looking shocked, horrified even.

 

“Oh dear...oh my...” Mrs. Suzuki began to wonder in fear, seeming to clutch something hidden in her sweater. “How...How did this happen...”

 

“I don’t know...” Natsume answered, before Mrs. Suzuki held out her hand and put it onto Natsume’s shoulder.

 

“Natsume, I don’t know how I can put this but...” Mrs. Suzuki began her speech. “Please, remember the kindness in your heart, since Touma is going to absolutely need it if you want to prevent that darkness from taking him over and shattering him.”

 

“How...How do you know how to combat this?” Natsume questioned, Mrs. Suzuki giving a nod.

 

“I simply know my ways, and I learned one very important thing in my youth,” Mrs. Suzuki stated firmly, her eyes glistening with a genuine passion for what she was saying. “That being genuine kindness can heal, and those who let the light within their heart die cause nothing but destruction and will eventually decay.”

 

“M...Mrs. Suzuki...” Natsume gasped, seeming to be pretty moved by the teacher’s words.

 

“You wield a device that connects humans and yokai together by bonding your heart to those spirits,” Mrs. Suzuki began for her conclusion. “So use that power in your heart to save those you care about.”

 

The braided haired girl looked over to her watch, noticing it was pretty visible. “Aaaah! You know this is a Yokai Watch!? But how!?”

 

Mrs. Suzuki got out what was hidden within her sweater. It was a beautiful pocket watch looking thing done in shining gold and pink, the image of a colorful star done in pink, purple, green, and blue surrounding a bright red heart.

 

“I have one myself, actually,” Mrs. Suzuki explained, Natsume looking shocked at what the seemingly normal teacher had.

 

Before long, a bell could be heard, the two women looking a bit surprised by the sound of that bell.

 

“Uhh...Well...” Mrs. Suzuki began, her usual collected bit of emotions seeming to fade off. “That’s...an awkward interruption. You should probably head back to class...If you’re feeling better.”

 

“Don’t worry, I am,” Natsume reassured, starting to feel a bit fired up. “Thank you for your kind words Mrs. Suzuki!”

 

Both girls went their ways, Mrs. Suzuki going back to work and Natsume on her way back to class, a heart full of vigor and determination now to get through the day, and help Akinori solve what had happened last night as soon as she was free from classes.

 

* * *

 

 

As Natsume was busy in school, Akinori was running around town to try and find hints and clues to get to the bottom of this mystery. Why were some people burning such odd amounts of goods? He didn’t seem to come to a conclusion, thankfully asking to borrow Whisper’s Y Pad to browse Usuranurain hopes that maybe a post was made about the strange activities Akinori caught word of last night.

 

There was a new post, but it was a bit of a shock to the boy.

 

“A post...from the web administrator!?” Akinori gasped in shock at seeing the site with a new post, and one that was a warning.

 

_Warning from the Admin._

 

_Thank you for using Usuranura. I never make posts myself, but I would like to issue a warning to those who have cats of any sort in their homes and families._

 

_Last night seemed to have been the first step in a ritual to summon a being named Big Ears. As far as I can tell from my research, it involves the burning of meat and fish based cat food, milk, and catnip. Please be aware, cat owners. Currently, it’s unknown who’s causing this activity, but if I have to look into things myself, I will._

 

_Thank you, the Web Admin._

 

“Goodness me, burning such resources and for what gain?” Whisper responded in dismay at the absolutely ridiculousness of those people. Junior, who was nearby, looked pouty.

 

“Hmpf, those kinds of people like that should get a hard lesson from papa!” Junior huffed, Akinori looking intrigued by what the red yokai was saying.

 

“Just who is your dad anyways, Junior?” Anikori asked, Whisper looking in with an uneasy look.

 

“He’s a bit of an old flame of mine, and one that’s pretty uhh...wild?” Whisper tried to explain as best as he could.

 

“So he’s like a delinquent?” Akinori questioned, Whisper adjusting his bowtie nervously.

 

“Oh my, far worse than your garden variety hooligan,” Whisper continued with his explanation of the yokai. “He’s a powerful yakuza that’s like a dragon! The fangs, the power, all of that!”

 

“Which is precisely why I have to make sure this little one stays away from that rough and dark path!” Whisper concluded with his reasoning. Though, something, or rather, something seemed to be missing from the equation.

 

“Say, Whisper, did you happen to see where Junior went?” Akinori asked, the well dressed yokai to finally notice that the child under his care had ran off.

 

“Not again!” Whisper gasped in fear, looking all around for the little round yokai. “We have to find Junior and fast! Who knows what kind of danger that child could have gotten himself into!”

 

The dynamic duo soon ran all around town in search for Junior. He was a small yokai, and combine with his shape shifting ability, he could be literally anywhere.

 

Bless both of their stars that Junior didn’t seem to go too far, just over by an infamously dangerous intersection.

 

Except the dangerous intersection part, that part was very bad indeed. Akinori and Whisper were about to scream as a truck was headed right for Junior, only for a large shadow to catch the tiny yokai and dent the speeding truck like it was a cheaply made toy.

 

“Tsk, learn to use your breaks when the light is red,” A tough sounding voice cursed to himself, the driver of the truck running in a panic. It didn’t take long for the source of the rough voice to make himself apparent to the two looking for their friend.

 

The source of the voice and truck destroying was a large red cat yokai, easily towering over any average human easily. He had large white fangs and claws, and pure yellow eyes that burned with an intimidating spark in them.

 

“Ah, Whisper, it’s been a while hasn’t it,” The red yokai commented, Junior in his large paw resting easy.

 

“It certainly has, Jibanyan, wasn’t expecting to run into you again so...soon...” Whisper remarked, Akinori looking shocked. Was that really Jibanyan? With a name like that, one would expect him to look a lot more cute, and a lot less like a giant monster cat.

 

“So, do you think you could maybe help us out with the case involving people burning cat food and the like?” Akinori asked, Jibanyan furrowing his eyes a bit.

 

“What do you think I am, some fists for hire or somethin?” Jibanyan questioned the two rather aggressively. “I ain’t about that life.”

 

“But...could you do a favor for an old friend?” Whisper pleaded with Jibanyan, the feline, kicking something aside.

 

“Honestly, you nearly got Junior here ran into a truck, and I don’t wanna know what other kinds of trouble you’ve gotten him into!” Jibanyan snapped back. “Who knows what could have happened if I wasn’t there!”

 

“But...” Whisper tried to reason, only to get a tire knocked in his direction from a powerful kick.

 

“As I said, I ain’t just fists for hire!” Jibanyan scolded one last time, before starting to turn away. “At least if you want me to work for you, bring two tons of chocolate!”

 

And with that, Jibanyan was gone, away from his usual intersection and away from the two who begged him for help. Junior seemed quite a bit frightened as he held close to the large cat.

 

“...Sorry if I had to raise my voice back there,” Jibanyan apologized to the small child, feeling his child’s fear. “A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do sometimes...”

 

“Papa...” Junior sniffed, a bit frightened. “You’re not gonna go away again, are you?”

 

“Of course not, your old man is gonna be here,” Jibanyan reassured, keeping his son closeby. “I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen again, I just don’t know who to trust sometimes in this world...”

 

* * *

 

The end of the school day had finally come by, Natsume starting to jog her way to meet up with Akinori and the others.

 

“I couldn’t find out much about the incident from last night...” Natsume remarked to herself, keeping her pace up. “But I did end up finding more about Touma, so it wasn’t a complete waste...”

 

However, Natsume was crossing her way for sure, but was oblivious to a rather oblivious driver, thinking they could outrun a red light. Pedestrians who? It was just a matter of beating that red light.

 

It seemed it was all a bit too late, only for the truck to be struck once more by a powerful force, being crushed like a ball of tin foil.

 

“Papa’s really strong!” Junior cheered, the large red feline he was hanging around glaring at the truck.

 

“Tsk, that’s the second one today, what gives?” Jibanyan remarked, Natsume looking up to the big cat.

 

“Uhh, thank you very much,” Natsume thanked, a bit intimidated by the large and tough feline. Junior went over to her and she whispered softly “You know him?”

 

“Yep! Jii-tan’s papa!” Junior answered in a whisper back, Natsume looking surprised. Though, she wasn’t the only one looking surprised, Jibanyan looking a bit surprised.

 

“Somethin’ about you seems familiar...” Jibanyan remarked, following Natsume and Junior to the other side of the street. He tilted his head and looked over the Junior curiously. “Kiddo, do you know this girl?”

 

“Her name is Natsume Amano! She’s a really nice girl and we solve mysteries!” Junior gave his most honest answer, Jibanyan taking a step back, as if his heart was starting to sink in his big feline body.

 

“Ms. Amano,” Jibanyan spoke, looking pretty distant for a huge monster cat like him. “Do you mind if we go somewhere to talk, I feel there’s something important I have to tell you...”

 

“S-Sure…!” Natsume agreed to, following Jibanyan to a quiet part of town. Seemed through the calming down, Jibanyan turned into a less monstrous form and into a form that was a lot smaller and slightly cuter. Though, it was still apparent that his ruggedness and age was clear, as well as his claws.

 

“So, Natsume, huh?” Jibanyan began, sitting next to Natsume on a grassy hill. It was peaceful, the wind feeling at a perfect temperature. “What do you know about your ma?”

 

“Well, she works a pretty average accounting job, and she married her childhood friend, it’s pretty normal as far as I know...” Natsume began. “She’s really nice and calm, though doesn’t hesitate to scold me or my brother when we do something wrong...”

 

“I see...” Jibanyan began, closing his feline eyes to focus. “The thing is...I was friends with your ma, Fumika Kodama...”

 

“W-What?!” Natsume gasped, Jibanyan holding up his fingered paw in an attempt to get the girl to calm down.

 

“You see, it goes like this...” Jibanyan continued, starting to describe nostalgically about the times long since passed…

 

* * *

 

 

It was thirty years ago, things were a bit different. Yokai and humans were no longer bound by a thick hypothetical barrier, but a much more loose one. Some chose to be visible, others chose to hide in the shadows. It was a simpler time.

 

The weather was quite rainy, in a city close yet far away. The loud thumping of rain struck on the streets, making things more slippery and cold, perfect weather for cuddling up.

 

That is, if you had a house or a sturdy shelter, not a cardboard box nearby a convenience store.

 

“N-No!” A much younger Jibanyan cried, looking far less rough around the edges. “My beautiful home! My home!”

 

The feline yokai frantically tried to save his cardboard home from rotting away in the rain. Attempting to save it was nothing more than a vain effort, as the rain kept on going and the rain from the street soaked into it, things became less worth trying to save.

 

Jibanyan looked up in the rain, tying to hold his two fiery wisp tails out of the downpour. “Where am I going to have to go now!?”

 

As the red cat looked around at the people walking past, it seemed hopeless. He was going to be out in the rain for the rest of his days. Was this his destiny?

 

That was until the rain seemed to stop around Jibanyan. It was still pouring just a reach out of him, but managed to keep himself dry. How odd.

 

“Are you okay?” A voice asked, Jibanyan realizing a girl was holding an umbrella over him to make sure he was nice and dry. Holding the umbrella was a young girl, her fluffy brown hair in a ponytail tied with a pink bow. She had a little pink and white pocket watch around her neck, and a familiar white ghost seemed to be floating nearby, though lacking his suit for more of an overall eggey appearance.

 

“N-Not really,” Jibanyan sniffled. “My home got destroyed by all this stupid rain, and I’m really cold and hungry too!”

 

The girl ended up picking up the feline, giving him an extra jacket to dry off with. “There there, I’ll let you stay with me, I can’t just let some poor kitty like you to stay out in the street like this...”

 

“Oh my nya! Thank you so much!” Jibanyan thanked, the bond between him and the girl becoming so strong the girl got a pink jewel that encased a heart from the cat. “I’m Jibanyan of the pretty tribe, by the way!”

 

“I’m Fumika Kodama, and this is my yokai butler, Whisper!” The girl, Fumika, introduced herself proper, Whisper giving a little bow and saying “At your service!” in response.

 

It became clear from that day onwards, the group shared a strong bond. From confronting troubles all throughout the city, to simply relaxing and enjoying life, the yokai friends Fumika had made seemed to have an unbreakable bond.

 

However, as they say, all good things must come to an end. It had only been a handful of years, Fumika going from starting in High School when she and Jibanyan met to now her about to finish her third and final year.

 

The unbreakable trio found themselves in a court room within the yokai world, being stared down by almost every member of the yokai council. It was a chilling atmosphere, everyone feeling cold and constantly on edge. Even the king of the entire yokai world was there, staring down with a glare with his burning yellow eyes.

 

“It has come to our attention that several yokai, including innocents and those important to the yokai government, have all had their souls ripped from their physical forms,” The leader of the council, Nurarihyon, began in a smooth yet ever so intimidating voice that could send a chill down even the most composed of individuals. “Effectively being murder, as the souls were ripped in such a manner that could not allow the yokai’s physical form to reform.”

 

Nurarihyon took a moment to pause to take a breath before getting back to his opening about the case at hand. “A majority of these yokai seemed to have been associated with Fumika Kodama, if the records of the direct connections of their “heart”, or Yokai Jewels, are any indication.”

 

“But...I never even did such a thing…!” Fumika tried to protest back on her case.

 

“The evidence suggests otherwise! While we don’t know who did it, we can get a pretty good clue from how most of them were yokai you contracted with, girlie!” Another yokai, Yamimaro, talked back to the girl.

 

“But how do we even know if she’s truly innocent?” Another yokai on the council board, Inugami, questioned. “Humans tend to be pretty sneaky with their crimes...”

 

“It could be a case of false accusation,” Yet another council member, Yomi Gensui, remarked. “It does happen from time to time, though even then some humans like to defend their honor.”

 

Arguing began to break out among the various council members, about if Fumika was innocent or not. It got to an eventual breaking point.

 

“Silence!” Great King Enma yelled, forcing everyone to become dead silent. The young adult king was nowhere near as intimidating as his grandfather or the depictions seen in textbooks, but the blood was still in his veins.

 

“I feel there can be a compromise to be made,” Great King Enma spoke up, keeping calm though there was some tone of regret in his voice. “One of Fumika’s affiliate yokai that are still living or even Fumika herself must serve a short sentence in Infinite Hell.”

 

The whole courtroom was silent for a bit, before one feline voice spoke up.

 

“I’ll do it, just please don’t do anything to Fumika or Whisper, okay?” Jibanyan spoke up, shocking the girl in question.

 

“Jibanyan...” Fumika and Whisper softly gasped at the sheer nobility of the cat yokai.

 

“She taught me friends are important, and neither of us did anything wrong,” Jibanyan began his case. “But if you have to give all the blame to someone, give it to me.”

 

“Are you certain about your choice?” Great King Enma asked one final time, making sure the cat was serious.

 

“I am absolutely serious, I’m begging you, your majesty,” Jibanyan courageously confirmed his choice. “Just make sure my friends come out clean from all of this! I don’t care if I have to serve a sentence of a year, ten years, or a hundred! Let my friends live peacefully!”

 

Great King Enma closed his eyes, thinking deeply. “If that’s so, then it’s settled. For the sake of Fumika Kodama and Whisper, Jibanyan will be serving a sentence within Infinite Hell to settle this case cleanly.”

 

And from that day onwards, Jibanyan served his sentence as instructed. He wondered for a while if Fumika and Whisper were doing okay, happy now that they didn’t have all this weighing them down. How did this even happen? It seemed all a bit too much…

 

As time went on with serving his sentence as asked, he became a lot more rugged and tough, his mind having gone through a lot in his sentence. By the time his sentence finally ended, fifteen years had passed.

 

The world seemed mostly the same, yet a lot had changed. While Jibanyan was still a red cat yokai, he was a lot more rugged, his voice had gotten deeper, and generally looked a bit more intimidating.

 

But, there was one thing he had to check up on, that being his two old dear friends. As fast as he could run, Jibanyan ended up finding where Fumika was now after all these years.

 

What he found, however, left him shocked. The watch was nowhere in sight, nor was Whisper. It felt so...hard on him…

 

“Where’s Whisper…?” Jibanyan muttered to himself, a bit shocked that his voice had gotten a lot bassier with time. “And why of all people did she marry such...an average looking businessman?”

 

She seemed to have been too busy, after all, she probably wouldn’t take well to some roughed up looking mangey cat breaking into her house. He decided to turn away, ending up in a familiar section of road he once inhabited.

 

Seeming to sense the cat’s return, an old friend of Jibanyan’s had come by.

 

“Goodness, I can’t believe such a sentence has already flown by...” Whisper remarked, starting to look more like a fine suited butler. Jibanyan gave a sigh.

 

“Wasn’t expecting Fumika to get married in that time...” Jibanyan remarked, feeling pretty glum.

 

“Me neither, though a lot had happened after that trial...” Whisper began, getting out Fumika’s iconic watch from his suit. “She told me to give the watch and to serve someone else, as it turns out the charges were falsely fallen onto Fumika...”

 

“So guess that ends our adventures with her, huh?” Jibanyan began, looking up to the sky. It started to get a bit cloudy.

 

“Maybe she’ll change her mind later, but, it seems like it,” Whisper sadly concluded.

 

“Well if that’s the case,” Jibanyan began, getting back up. “I’m going to search across the country for more trucks to beat up...But for the sake of traffic safety.”

 

Jibanyan looked back one last time at Whisper. “And you’re happy to come along with me too, if you want.”

 

“That sounds like a bit of a rough road for my tastes,” Whisper admitted, but giving a warm look to the feline. “But, just know I’ll still be in this city if you need anything.”

 

With that, Jibanyan began his journey all across Japan...For nearly another fifteen years, all by himself…

 

* * *

 

“Finally, a bit of my soul ended up breaking off in a tough battle, making Junior,” Jibanyan started to conclude his story. “I tried to raise him myself, but I thought maybe Whisper could use someone else to look after all these years...”

 

Natsume was shocked at the tale Jibanyan had told. Did her mother really do all that? She had a yokai watch as well? Were all the holders of a yokai watch independent, or did they form a multi-colored hero squadron? So many questions went through Natsume’s head…

 

“That...That was my mom? She did all of that?” Natsume asked, Jibanyan nodding to confirm for her.

 

“Your ma was an amazing, above average woman,” Jibanyan began, handing Natsume something from his paw. “I’ll be willin’ to give you a hand in these times, but if you can, make sure me and your ma can talk things out one last time...”

 

“I’ll make sure not to let you down, I promise,” Natsume agreed to, before being thrown off by the scent of something...It was the smell of something...burning? Smelling vaguely of milk, meats, and fish…

 

Natsume looked over to Jibanyan, realizing he had given her his arc. “I’m sorry, but I have to go now, I was warned about this earlier!”

 

Jibanyan simply gave a thumbs up to Natsume, as the girl ran to the direction that the burning fire was coming from.

 

It seemed to be one of the fires burning various cat related offerings that Akinori spoke of this morning. In fact, Akinori himself was there.

 

“You aren’t getting away!” Akinori yelled, quickly forming a magic star to throw at a mysterious and large figure rising out of the flames. The large shadow hissed as it was bound, revealing itself.

 

The figure took the form of a large black cat, with a small green eye with a large pupil, and a big blue eye with a small pupil. The cat had very large ears that had small yellow glowing bits on the side, and an equally as large set of monstrous big paws and a large evil grin on it’s face.

 

“Fool! You really think your stupid magic is going to keep me here?” The large monster cat hissed, seeming to take in the fumes from the flame and gain enough power to break free.

 

“Just who are you?” Natsume questioned, shocking Akinori that the girl ended up coming onto the scene. The monster only gave a loud laugh, sounding like a screechy old feline.

 

“I am none other than the one and only Big Ears!” Big Ears introduced himself, proudly holding his giant claws out. “Granter of wishes for a price!”

 

“Big ears huh?” Akinori remarked, focusing once again on some spiritual energy. “Shouldn’t you be more sandish colored and have spots?”

 

Big Ears slashed one of his claws into the ground to try and throw off Akinori’s balance. “I will not allow such mockery to come my way!”

 

The moment before Big Ears got up again to deliver a slash, the large cat was struck with some magic from Akinori, causing the cat too loose some balance and crash foolishly.

 

“You could say it serv-als you right!” Akinori laughed off, but soon shut his mouth as Big Ears got back up.

 

“Is this how you treat a granter of wishes?” Big Ears quipped, even less amused by Akinori’s terrible, terrible pun. “Well I have bad news for you! I’ve already got myself a master, and his wish is to make sure you’re destroyed!”

 

Natsume took notice to Big Claws going over to a nearby tree, swiftly slashing it down and then grabbing it to use as a massive wooden club. She quickly unlocked the watch with a particular arc, this time turning it counter-clockwise, an intimidating voice saying “shadow” to announce the summoning.

 

“Claws, fangs, and paws! Let’s get wild, my Mononoke friend!” Natsume shouted, putting the arc over the open watch face. “Summoning...Jibanyan!”

 

With a swift summoning motion, Jibanyan rose out again, in his much larger monstrous Shadowside form to combat against Big Ears. With a strong punch, the tree was effortlessly shattered by the large red cat, Big Ears looking surprised, but still keeping his big grin.

 

“Heh, you got your own big cat over here, eh?” Big Ears remarked, wiping his paw before getting back into a fighting stance. “Well, let’s see what you’re made of!”

 

Big Ears lunged forward to Jibanyan, clawing at the red cat’s left side, only for Jibanyan to turn around quickly and give a kick right into Big Ear’s gut, knocking the big cat backwards and into another nearby tree.

 

“Tsk...Your techniques are utterly maverick!” Big Ears commented, getting back up and lunging at Jibanyan again, performing an X shaped slash with his large claws.

 

It was a pretty strong impact for Jibanyan, managing to keep his ground by landing on all fours and sliding. His breathing got a bit heavier, seeming to have been weakened a bit by the equally strong cat specter.

 

“Hang in there, Jibanyan! You can do it!” Natsume encouraged to her feline friend with all her heart.

 

Jibanyan felt a surge of energy, knowing he couldn’t give up now. He focused, feeling his energy surge through him as he stood back up, paws bared as he jumped up, ready to unleash his ultimate attack.

 

“Hundred Feline Fists!” Jibanyan yelled, unleashing a fury of what looked like one hundred punches at Big Ears, striking at the evil feline.

 

Finally, once the attack was over, Big Ears didn’t seemed to be damaged, but Jibanyan was keeping his cool.

 

“Useless, useless, useless!” Big Ears called out with a cackle. “Your pathetic little paw attacks! They’re no stronger than a mosquito's!”

 

“You’re already defeated,” Jibanyan stated calmly without flinching as he pointed to Big Ears.

 

“W-What!?” Big Ears stated in confusion, only to now feel what felt like one hundred powerful fists pummeling into him all at once.

 

With such a great force, it seemed a dark aura was cleansed from Big Ears, the evil evaporating into thin air as only a small figure stood in the grass.

 

“Oi….What tae ol’ blimey jus happened?” The small yokai remarked, revealing to be another cat-like yokai, but distinctly different than Jibanyan.

 

He resembled something like a tuxedo cat, with black fur and large patches of white fur. He had one green eye and one blue eye, long ears, and a single very fluffy tail and a puft of white fur on his chest that looked like a star. He had a simple brown belt with a pouch and from his back were a set of glowing yellow dragonfly-like wings.

 

“I’m not sure, but you were causing people to burn a lot of things,” Akinori informed for the feline cat.

 

“Burnin’ tings ya say!? Tha sorta thing woul’nd fly with Cait Sith!” The mysterious new cat yokai, introduced himself, before taking an eye at Natsume’s watch.

 

“You ‘ere!” Cait Sith called out, pointing to Natsume’s watch. “Ya got yersel the forbi’dn artifac’ I was ask’d to look fer!”

 

Cait Sith tried to jump up to get the watch, but was unsuccessful as Jibanyan managed to stop him by grabbing the cat’s singular tail.

 

“Just who asked you to look for the artifact?” Jibanyan asked, Cait Sith looking a little less than amused.

 

“I was ask’d to look fer it by ol’ Great Fae Queen Titania hersel!” Cait Sith explained. “But then I got caugh’ up inna whole lotta stuff that’s kinda fuszy in my ol’ mind...”

 

“I think you were a yokai Pixie spoke of, your wings seem to confirm that,” Natsume pointed out, before crouching to the cat’s level and gently reaching out her hand. “Do you want me to help you out? I mean, it was pure accident that I even got this watch, I don’t know who stole it.”

 

Cait Sith paused for a moment, before reaching out his paw out to the girl’s hand in friendship. “I suppose, but it’s only because ya don’ know who tae actual thief is out ‘ere.”

 

Once the two joined hand in hand in friendship, Natsume received the yokai arc for Cait Sith, with one side having him normally and the other showing Big Ears. The group then turned their focus to Jibanyan, namely Akinori and a Whisper who was in hiding.

 

“So, it seems you have returned,” Whisper remarked, glaring a bit at the cat. “Now now, we’re old friends and all, but I’m expecting--”

 

“I’m sorry for how I acted earlier,” Jibanyan shot down with an apology. While his tone was rough, it was very honest deep down. “I’m just a cat bound by my own laws and don’t want to be reduced to a pair of fists for hire.”

 

Jibanyan then looked over at Natsume, before looking at the other two. “But I didn’t even know this girl here was friends with you, so I suppose if you’re in a bind, I can give a hand.”

 

On that note, the sun was setting once again, meaning everyone started to get back to their normal evening lives, at least for now. Though watching the fight, there was a shadowy figure, who then retreated back to their base of dark shadows…

 

* * *

 

Back in the circus tent, the ring leading duo looked even more frustrated and disappointed at their human ally.

 

“Again!? You had to fail and waste my absolutely precious time and resources!?” Jibunkageki cursed loudly, getting more and more irritated.

 

“At least I think things were slightly more effective this time,” Touma tried to defend himself from the enraged opera singer yokai. Shiki-Sharu looked even more displeased.

 

“Even if stuff get burned and people questioning how it got burned,” Shiki-Sharu began, clenching his fists before getting even louder. “It’s still completely ineffective and foolish!”

 

“Please...don’t shout...” Touma asked, Shiki-Sharu getting more and more frustrated.

 

“I’m not shouting! I’m just raising my voice!” Shiki-Sharu basically shouted as loud as he could. Jibunkageki glared down at Touma.

 

“One. More. Chance,” Jibunkageki warned, her glare getting more and more sinister. “Don’t even think about blowing the chance I gave you, or I’ll make sure you pay that price in full, no matter what...”

  



	4. Barking with the Dogs

 

Morning has arrived, but right before the sun had a moment to rise. The night was having it’s final moments of grace as one figure stood within the shadows, something he was familiar with.

 

“I’m like a shadow, huh...” Touma thought aloud to himself. He knew right now, he had one and final chance left. One last chance to prove himself as worth it to the eyes of the Onimaro Circus. He felt the grip of the kigan gear get a lot stronger, more intense. It felt it was directly connected to him at this point, and wanted him to suffer dearly if he made a wrong move or think about things that weren’t about suffering.

 

Without much more hesitation, Touma took a deep breath and held his last and final arc over the Kigan Gear. The main eye on it focused, before a large shadow began to appear, absorbing the dark and evil arc into the shadows. The being took the form of a large beast, paws as large as a man’s hand with large green insectoid wings on their back just giving the slightest bit of illumination to them. Their glaring eyes looked at Touma.

 

“I’ll be the one to serve you...” The bestial being spoke, remaining mostly in the shadows. “Now, let me know what you desire...”

 

Touma reached out his hand to the giant beast. “Let me work with you, we can be more effective together...”

 

“Unity is usually a thing reserved for fools...” The beast spoke, before closing their eyes briefly. “But, if you insist...”

 

The mysterious beast allowed Touma to climb onto their back, the being jumping all through the shadows to avoid the light of the morning sun.

 

Touma reflected on how this was similar to how he started, and this was likely how he was going to end if he didn’t prove himself worth the time and resources to the Onimaro Circus.

 

Even if there was a small feeling in his heart, he had to shake it off, no matter what. It was all for the sake of the goal of his masters…

 

* * *

 

 

With the rising of the morning sun, everything started normal. Natsume got up and went to school, Akinori slept in a bit and then checked to see if there were any sightings, it was all pretty normal.

 

There wasn’t even a new  _ Usuranura _ post from the looks of things, as the worst of the worst happened after school and Natsume coming to meet with Akinori and co.

 

“T-The site is down?!” Natsume gasped in shock, Akinori nodding as there was a constant error on the page

 

“Yeah, and I don’t even know what happened...” Akinori commented.

 

“Do you think it’s your internet connection?” Whisper inquired, Akinori pulling up a screen on the computer.

 

“No, as you can see, it’s perfectly fine,” Akinori answered, showing the internet was very stable. Junior looked over into the matters.

 

“How about restarting your computer thingy?” Junior asked, tilting in curiosity.

 

“I don’t think that’ll wor--” Akinori tried to say, only for Junior to quickly press the button, causing the screen to go to a solid color and display a text saying that it’s restarting.

 

“Aaaaaaack!” Akinori screamed in horror at Junior’s actions. Junior didn’t have much to say on the remark, acting pretty innocent about the whole thing.

 

Thankfully for the group of Yokai Detectives, the computer ended up rebooting pretty quickly, even the browser re-opening to where Akinori left off.

 

By some miracle by aligning the stars, Usuranura was back online, and there was even a new post!

 

“See? It worked!” Junior cheered, feeling pretty proud of himself. The group didn’t have time to even scold at Junior, they had to see the new post before things went offline suddenly again.

 

_!!!!! Important Post Please Read !!!!! _

 

_ Hello, while it shows that this is a post from the admin of Usuranura, I am not actually the admin. U=’x ’=U” _

 

_ Anyways, this is an important post, as the head admin of the site has gone missing as of very, very, VERY early this morning! What I remember is there were three loud barks outside, getting louder and louder, and then they were gone! _

 

_ Everyone, please stay safe! I’ll try to keep things updated as best as I can!!! Wish me luck!!! U(= ÒㅅÓ=)U _

 

_ Thank you, the Web Admin. _

 

“So, seems the admin of the site has gone missing?” Natsume thought to herself, before looking over to Akinori. “Do you think we can try contacting the admin?”

 

“Eeeeh!?” Akinori yelped in shock at the suggestion. “B-But the admin of Usuranura could be literally anyone! A powerful or dangerous person or even yokai! We don’t know what we would be getting ourselves into!”

 

As Akinori continued to panic, stepping away from the computer to list off everything that the admin could be, Natsume quickly got the instant message information for the admin and sent a message.

 

“Good news!” Natsume said, looking at the instant message info. “We can meet up with the admin at a nearby ice cream parlor!”

 

“You contacted them and got an answer that fast!?” Akinori questioned loudly, Natsume rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment.

 

“Well, it was worth a try, so let’s head on out yeah?” Natsume suggested, the group soon heading out into town to see who was the temporary admin of the site of spiritual sightings…

 

With a short and brisk walk, the group arrived at the meeting spot of the replacement admin. Though, to the shock of Natsume, it was someone she knew.

 

“M-Mrs. Suzuki!?” Natsume gasped, surprised to see the teacher here. Akinori looked confused.

 

“Oh Natsume?” Mrs. Suzuki began, her tone being soft and curious. “Didn’t know you had some friends coming along, let alone you were wondering what happened to the Usuranura admin...”

 

“Who is she?” Akinori asked, Mrs. Suzuki looking at the group.

 

“She’s a special education counselor that transferred to my school recently,” Natsume explained. “We met the other day, and she can see yokai on top of that.”

 

“That’s correct, something was worrying her and I couldn’t help but lend my hand,” Mrs. Suzuki opened with, looking pleased. “Though, who are your friends here?”

 

“I’m Akinori Arihoshi, and this is Whisper and Junior!” Akinori introduced himself, and the two yokai tagging along with them. Mrs. Suzuki gave a gentle smile.

 

“It’s nice to meet you, though I believe I have a small friend who I’d like everyone to meet as well,” Mrs. Suzuki responded happily, making a motion with her hand to call someone, or rather something forth.

 

Making their appearance was the form of a yokai. They took the form of a pure white shiba inu from the looks of it, aside from the blue whisps on their head, front paws, and tail. Their eyes were eternally closed, but that didn’t seem to bother them.

 

“Hmmm yes, what is it?” The dog yokai asked, scratching behind his ear like any other dog would.

 

“Everyone, this is Komasan of the Omamori tribe,” Mrs. Suzuki introduced the dog yokai.

 

“With a name like Komasan, shouldn’t he be more...stubby?” Whisper inquired about the dog yokai. “And say things like Mongee?”

 

“There’s more than one set of Komainu yokai out there, you know,” Komasan filled in for Whisper. “Though the ones you’ve described sound interesting...”

 

“While he’s our household dog, he’s usually with my wife who runs Usuranura most of the time, but...” Mrs. Suzuki started to fill in, stopping when she felt a bit fearful about finishing her word.

 

“But she’s gone missing, trying to defend me from a large green beast that was the steed for the grim reaper,” Komasan explained, keeping his blank expression but the solemn tone in his words describing things well enough.

 

“Just where did you encounter this reaper and green beast? A Green Rider if you will?” Akinori asked the dog yokai in hopes to get an answer. Could he even see?

 

“While it was dark and hard to see, we chased the Green Rider into an old costume company warehouse just outside of town,” Komasan explained as best he could. “My master said she could handle trying to face against the Green Rider herself, and told me to run and find help.”

 

“Costume company warehouse? That’s odd...” Natsume remarked, thinking in deep thought. “But, even if it’s weird, it’s definitely the work of a yokai!”

 

“Right, we’ll solve this case and make sure your wife is a-ok, Mrs. Suzuki!” Akinori reassured, Mrs. Suzuki putting her hands to her side and tagging along with the two.

 

“Well, let’s all have Komasan lead the way then,” Mrs. Suzuki finished, seeming pretty confident. “I’m going with you all too.”

 

The group seemed shocked that she was tagging along, but it made sense. It was her wife in danger after all.

 

With the team assembled, everyone followed Komasan, the dog sniffing and leading everyone to the whereabouts of this mysterious warehouse…

 

* * *

 

 

The aforementioned costume company warehouse was pretty dark and empty. There were a few boxes of old, unsold stock, and very little lighting to keep the light of the warehouse illuminated.

 

Contained within a powerful magic barrier in the warehouse was a woman with greyish brown eyes that were filled with mystical energy behind her thin rim glasses. Her very dark blue, nearly black hair was magical heroine lengths. Around her neck was a moonstone magatama and she wore clothing like a miko with a distinct moonlight aura.

 

It seemed there were several attempts by the woman to try and break out of the warehouse, but she only folded her arms upon seeing her captor.

 

The ones who seemed to have put her here was a figure in a black cloak that obstructed most of their face, and their ride was a large, shaggy green, wild wolf dog. The wolf dog had piercing red eyes, a very long, coiling tail, and large green insectoid wings.

 

“Just what do you want from me?” The priestess woman asked, looking irritated at the cloaked figure.

 

“Do you care?” The cloaked figure asked, their tone cold and monotone. The priestess looked confused.

 

“About what, exactly?” The priestess seriously asked.

 

“About anything and everything...” The cloaked figure responded, the priestess looking unamused.

 

“Of course I care! Who do you think you are, some old cheesy show villain?” The priestess spoke back harshly.

 

“You dare to insult me?” The cloaked figure asked, unimpressed by the priestess’ ability to talk back.

 

“You’re exactly right, bucko,” the priestess gave an honest but snarky answer, the cloaked figure giving a small “tsk” in response.

 

Before the two could keep squabbling against each other, there was a loud crashing sound, the head of the large green beast turning to the source of the sound.

 

“We’re here to save Mrs. Suzuki’s wife!” Natsume announced boldly, the other members of her group by her side.

 

“Cu Sith, take care of these fools,” The cloaked figure commanded, the large green beast charging up to the group, fangs being bared.

 

“You have made a grave mistake, you foolish children!” Cu Sith ferociously barked, focusing on Komasan and Mrs. Suzuki in particular.

 

“Watch out!” Komasan barked, making sure everyone was able to get out of the way. The white dog stood his ground against the much larger, more frightening dog that even gave Great Danes a run for their money in terms of size.

 

Komasan attempted to lunge against the mighty Cu Sith, his rarely shown fangs becoming apparent. The snow white hound attempted to nip the shaggier, mangier dog, though it was like soft nibbles to the large beast.

 

“Is that seriously the best you have?” Cu Sith questioned in a deep, frightening tone. With sheer force, he was able to fling Komasan off. “If so, get lost. There’s a reason I’m the reaper’s hound dog...”

 

Flung onto the floor, it seemed Komasan was greatly weakened, but there was more in him. A power was boiling within him, and an utter instinct was brewing as well.

 

Komasan did the unthinkable, he managed to open his eyes. Upon opening them, he transformed into a much larger, more intimidating dog. The once small swirls on his body became a full on light blue, wispy mane of spiritual energy. His teeth were more glaring and red markings around his face brought attention to his intimidating yellow-green eyes.

 

“I’ll show you!” Komasan barked, making sure Cu Sith he wasn’t messing around anymore.

 

“Then show me!” Cu Sith yelled, seeming to be not phased in the slightest by the transformation of the white dog.

 

The combative brawl between the two canines continued, Komasan’s Shadowside form being a lot more combat capable and prepared. Cu Sith ended up trying to lunge up at Komasan, only for the dog to slide underneath the large jump and grab onto Cu Sith’s long and fluffy tail like a chew rope.

 

“Grrh?” Cu Sith asked, trying to hide the fact the biting of his tail hurt. With a strong running force, Komasan gained momentum and was able to fling Cu Sith into the hard metal ceiling of the warehouse, before a strong power surged in the white dog’s heart, one that stemmed from his desire to protect the others.

 

“Falling Dog Rock!” Komasan barked to announce his finishing move, a large spirit projection of some fangs appearing near Cu Sith, only for a large komainu statue to appear and crash right onto Cu Sith, causing the evil dog to fall back down to the ground with a large crash.

 

“Cu Sith...your time isn’t over...” The cloaked figure stated, seeming to be a bit worried in their tone. They raised up their left arm, and a large wave of dark energy. The dark energy surged onto Cu Sith, causing the dog to get back up and let out three mighty barks.

 

Such a force was able to knock Komasan back into his lightside form, seeming to be drained. Mrs. Suzuki quickly ran over to the aid of the dog.

 

“Komasan, are you alright?” Mrs. Suzuki asked, gently holding the dog. Komasan gave a smile.

 

“I’m okay, don’t worry,” Komasan reassured as best as he could despite his injuries. “Yokai are a lot harder to beat down...”

 

Mrs. Suzuki focused her attention over to the mysterious cloaked figure, her eyes looking displeased and shocked.

 

“How...How could you do such a thing?” Mrs. Suzuki asked, confused about the cloaked figure’s actions. “Have such a wild beast go after a much weaker yokai...”

 

“I’m merely fulfilling my duty...” The cloaked figure responded, Mrs. Suzuki standing up and walked over fiercely, seeming to have gotten to a boiling point.

 

“What kind of duty of yours involves picking on people weaker than you?” Mrs. Suzuki asked, her tone being serious, but not raising her voice or yelling. She was speaking from her heart, and wanted this cloaked figure to listen to what she had to say. “Hurting others never accomplishes anything, it only destroys and kills, and for what? A moment of self superiority?”

 

The words Mrs. Suzuki spoke seemed to have struck a cord with the cloaked figure briefly. Something about the woman’s words, they were strangely powerful and even kind of...familiar? But how? And more importantly, why?

 

But such words couldn’t cloud up the mind of the cloaked figure. Seeming to sense this, Cu Sith let out another bark that sent Mrs. Suzuki away from the cloaked figure and behind some boxes of old costume stock.

 

“Mrs. Suzuki!” Natsume gasped in shock, before grabbing something in her pocket and glaring at Cu Sith and the cloaked figure. “You keep hurting our friends, so we’ll put an end to you!”

 

“ Claws, fangs, and paws! Let’s get wild, my Mononoke friend!” Natsume yelled with all her heart and soul, turning the keyhole in the Elder Watch counterclockwise. “Summoning...Seiya Kyubi!”

 

Emerging from a shadow behind Natsume was the fox guardian of the Arihoshi family, a Kyubi by the name of Seiya. He appeared in his larger, more feral and fierce Shadowside form, ready to fight.

 

“Another dog friend of yours?” Cu Sith asked, before focusing his glare even more. “How interesting, even a little pathetic that you keep having to rely so much on others...”

 

“It’s my duty to protect!” Seiya yelled back for an answer, with such a voice it was as strong as the heavens. A large ball of fire began to form over the fox’s head. “Now, for hurting those I protect, you’ll feel a wrath like no other!”

 

Flames were hurled at Cu Sith, but the large shaggy dog managed to make a leap to avoid is, managing to stay airborne thanks to his wings.

 

“Drat…!” Akinori thought to himself, starting to focus some spiritual energy. As the boy charged focus, he got behind Cu Sith and flung a powerful star. “Take this!”

 

The star hit right onto the back of Cu Sith, causing the ferocious beast to crash right into the flames Seiya had created earlier.

 

“Alright, Seiya, this is your chance!” Natsume encouraged, the energy from her heart starting to connect with the fox. Seiya began to focus on a powerful energy, like komasan, was stemmed from his desire to protect those that were dear to him…

 

“Nine Tailed Fire Soul!” Seiya shouted, nine balls of red violet fire appearing around his nine fanciful tails. They each struck Cu Sith one by one, pinning the evil hound further, before promptly exploding into a massive column of spectacular fire.

 

“Grooooaaaa! No!” Cu Sith howled one last time, before the sheer force of the fire caused all the dark energy from the beast to finally leave.

 

Witnessing the events nearby, the cloaked figure was close enough to be slightly charred by the flames. He was unable to move by the actions happening to the beast. It caused him to fall down to his knees.

 

“No...This couldn’t have happened...” The cloaked figure asked, shocked to see what happened to his partner.

 

The figure’s partner, after being scorned by the flames, revealed their true, undarkened form. They took the form of a little brown-ish green sheltie looking dog that stood upright and looked rather stubby. The dog had bright green insectoid wings up above his eyes, like neon glowing eyebrows.

 

“Hey now...It’s alright...” The little dog tried to reassure, tugging on the cloak of the larger figure to get his attention.

 

“No...No it isn’t...” The cloaked figure spoke, the tiny dog tugging once more.

 

“It is okay, since I’m Cu Sith, Omamori Fae yokai extraordinaire, so you don’t gotta worry about any weird name changes,” Cu Sith, now in his Seelie form, kept reassuring. “I protect people from danger, and I want to protect you.”

 

Though with the last tug, it brought the cloak off of the cloaked figure, revealing that it was none other than Touma. Natsume wasn’t shocked, but another certainly was.

 

Mrs. Suzuki looked over at Touma, surprised he was acting like this. Natsume was right, but she was expecting him to hang around bad crowds, not exactly channel such raw dark energy himself...It was truly heartbreaking to see for the teacher.

 

Not a word came out of her mouth, just looking off distantly and being truly saddened. Not an angry kind of disappointing, but one that happens only when someone you truly cared about ends up morphing into a different, more horrifying kind of person.

 

“What happened to you…?” Mrs. Suzuki spoke to herself, trying her best to accept the truth that was in front of her. It was a hard thing to accept, but she had to. Was it easier to just deny it constantly? Yes, but that would be nowhere close to the right thing…

 

Touma seemed to have sensed just how heartbroken Mrs. Suzuki was, a student of hers having gone down a very dark and dangerous road. First Natsume, now a former teacher...Why were they the only ones that seemed to remember he existed...even if he really couldn’t?

 

Those two people seemed to have remembered him now, but for reasons that seemed bad. They seemed bitter, and disappointed in him...But, one thing was still certain…

 

“I...I just wanted to win...just this once...” Touma lowly spoke to himself, something strong radiating in his heart.

 

However, that feeling was soon shot down by a massive jolt of pain, as if to punish him for feeling anything that wasn’t constant misery, and to only get the joy out of seeing others suffer.

 

“Touma?” Natsume asked, wondering what was going through the boy’s mind. However, she never got a chance to approach, as a large shadow seemed to have to have formed under Touma, the boy looking worried, before a large hand tried to grab him and take him with it.

 

“No you won’t take him away!” Cu Sith gave a tiny woof, trying to grab onto Touma’s right arm as best as his little paws could.

 

“How dare you, you persistent little pest?” An evil, shadowy voice questioned the dog, surprisingly being in an even matched tug of war with Cu Sith.

 

Touma, in the middle of all of this, was utterly confused. Was Cu Sith trying to stop him from his inevitable fate? What was going on...It was all rushing through his mind.

 

“I’m his friend and I’m going to protect him!” Cu Sith said with all his heart. “You won’t ever hurt him!”

 

The shadow didn’t say anything in response, instead flinging a jolt of dark energy that forced Cu Sith to let go, the evil shadow disappearing and taking Touma with it. Cu Sith rubbed the paw he was struck on.

 

“I’m sorry...” Cu Sith quitely spoke to himself, sniffling over the loss of his friend and his minor yet painful injuries.

 

“Are you okay little guy?” Natsume asked sweetly, turning her head slightly. “I think your name was Cu Sith, right?”

 

“Yep, I’m sure you heard how I’m an Omamori tribe Fae yokai too, right?” Cu Sith asked, Natsume nodding.

 

Before long, what sounded like spiritual glass being shattered could be heard, as well as a loud “Oh finally!” as the trapped priestess made herself clear.

 

“Took that barrier long enough to finally weaken...” The priestess from earlier commented, Mrs. Suzuki’s eyes lightening up.

 

“Shinju!” Mrs. Suzuki happily cheered, jumping up to happily reunite with her wife. “I’m so glad you’re okay!”

 

“Heh, honestly it wasn’t that bad, Mai,” Shinju remarked, keeping things a bit more light hearted. “I’ll try not to get caught up by giant evil hounds again…!”

 

“So, I take it you’re the admin of Usuranura?” Akinori asked, Shinju snapping her fingers and doing a pose.

 

“Absolutely, name’s Shinju Tsukimori, or just Shinju Mori for short,” Shinju introduced herself properly. “Blessed by Kaguyahime and the light of the moon, I help protect folks from danger!”

 

“Wait, so you’re from the Tsukimori family, the other family of yoki magic users?!” Akinori spoke up in shock, Shinju nodding.

 

“Yep, the other one in these parts is the Arihoshi family, but I take it they’re probably a bit reclusive,” Shinju commented, only for Akinori to rub the back of his head.

 

“Well, you’re actually looking at the heir of the Arihoshi family right here...” Akinori added in, Shinju looking absolutely shocked.

 

“What!?” Shinju yelped, being absolutely stunned by that knowledge. “Well, I did see you do some crazy magic, but I thought I was just seeing things...”

 

Cu Sith waddled in gently to the group, looking a bit nervous. “So...I was one of three Fae yokai captured...Do any of you know what happened to the other two?”

 

Natsume got out two arcs from her pocket, smiling gently. “Well, let me show you!”

 

“Double the fun, let’s go!” Natsume began, unlocking the watch clockwise and holding up two arcs in front of the open watch. “Summoning Pixie and summoning Cait Sith!”

 

In moments, the two Fae yokai made their appearance once more, looking over at Cu Sith.

 

“So you’re the Omamori fae yokai I saw, huh?” Pixie commented, smiling gently. “I wasn’t expecting such a cute fluffy puppy!”

 

“I coul beg to differ ere,” Cait Sith snarkily said, not seeming to be the biggest fan of dogs naturally.

 

“Golly goodness, it seems my fellow Fae friends have been saved from the darkness of the Onimaro Circus!” Cu Sith cheered, despite not knowing the other Fae yokai. Everyone just looked completely puzzled.

 

“Wot in the ol’ blimey are you goin’ on about?” Cait Sith questioned, perplexed by the dog’s answer.

 

“The Onimaro Circus is the ones that kidnapped up and a larger, greater guardian of the Fae yokai...” Cu Sith explained. “They’re the ones who have Touma under their control, and they want to resurrect a great and horrible being it seems...”

 

“You don’t mean...our greatest enemy...do you?” Pixie fearfully asked, Cu Sith nodding.

 

“Goodness help the ol’ queen! They wanna sum’on Nyx!?” Cait Sith gasped in shock, the others looking confused.

 

“Nyx?” Natsume inquired, hoping she wouldn’t regret the answer she was going to get.

 

“Nyx...is a being combined of many, many negative emotions...It’s power is immensely destructive...” Pixie began, shivering in fear as she began to describe the being. “Nobody knows how to defeat it, as Nyx is far too powerful and requires sacrifices to stay at bay...”

 

“That sounds pretty scary...” Akinori remarked frighteningly. “Do you know where this Onimaro Circus is so we can prevent such a thing from even happening?”

 

“The Onimaro Circus is in a big tent outside of town,” Cu Sith informed, his little ears perking up. “It has a powerful, dark energy, so if you can sense yoki energy it shouldn’t be too hard to find.”

 

“So that’s what it’s called and where it is, huh?” Natsume stated, before looking determined. “I don’t know if we can save Touma, but we can at least put an end to that horrifying show!”

 

Everyone in the group nodded, getting into a circle and putting their hands or paws together to signify unity, before heading on out of the old warehouse. They had to get to the bottom of this evil circus, and stop such a great evil from coming back to light…

 

* * *

 

 

However, back in the large tent of the Onimaro Circus, things looked to be going from bad to even worse.

 

Touma had returned to the base of his operations, but it seemed he was cruelly flung into a wooden display for the circus, as well as evidence of a harsh whip being cracked on his left arm. The grip of the Kigan Gear seemed to have gotten to an absolute painful point, being the upmost levels of unbearable.

 

“You’ve used up all three of your chances...and for what!?” Jibunkageki yelled angrily at the boy, her microphone having become a harsh whip from the looks of it. “Can you even do anything right!?”

 

“My my, Jibunkageki,” Shiki-Sharu commented back, seeming to be much calmer yet sinister. “Do you know anything about this boy?”

 

“Of course not! I only care about how this boy benefits me and only me!” Jibunkageki yelled back, Touma wincing at how loud and harsh the yelling seemed to have gotten at this point...So much started to hurt… “Why did the Onimaro commander have to bring in someone who’s broken and good for absolutely nothing!?”

 

“It’s true he’s very broken,” Shiki-Sharu remarked, something seeming to be a bit off in his tone. “And not just emotionally, but spiritually and mentally. Such a boy is a bottomless pit of problems, his parents research day in and day out on trying to fix such a thing!”

 

Touma looked shocked at what the monkey yokai was saying. “Is...is that true?”

 

“Of course it is you broken fool!” Shiki-Sharu announced, jumping down closer to let the boy know his words. “It’s precisely and absolutely truthfully why your parents work over at  Sakura Motomachi’s prestigious DNA research facility! They want to figure out how not to have such an utterly disappointing child in their life!”

 

The poor blue boy’s heart felt broken, shattered. While something was just the slightest bit off from the monkey’s words, it hurt. It hurt a lot. He knew from a young age he very much not like other children, socializing and other seemingly basic things being absolutely foreign and confusing to him. So much of the world didn’t make sense to him that everyone else seemed to have understood easy…

 

Touma was just left staring, unable to speak back or say anything. It was true, he was completely broken, and being broken was nothing more than a waste of time and space. He was undoubtedly the living embodiment of actual junk. Trash. Should be disposed of as soon as possible.

 

“If this hunk of junk is going to do nothing but stare off into space and not even look at the marvel that is me, get him out of my face!” Jibunkageki screamed, angrily stepping towards Touma with her whip in hand. She grabbed a hold of the boy, making quite the dramatic, flying entrance out of the tent. The evil opera singing yokai looked over a nearby but vast lake.

 

“Now, begone at once!” Jibunkageki yelled, her whip unfurling and Touma being harshly flung into the large body of water bellow...

  
  



	5. Total Eclipse of the Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Post Publication Update: A few minor tweaks have been added thanks to some feedback, mostly in a few moments of dialogue to make things better and flow smoother.

Now knowing an end goal and location of the evils across town, the group lead by Natsume lead a pretty strong charge. Cu Sith was guiding the way, using his senses of scent, vision, and sound to lead everyone in the direction of the circus tent

 

“Something smells fishy...” Cu Sith commented, sniffing in the air. “...and pretty familiar in some places too...”

 

Cu Sith stopped in his tracks, motioning to tell everyone to stop as well when they got within eyeshot of a nearby lake, a large splash being seen.

 

“W-What’s going on?” Natsume questioned, holding up her hands in shock. Cait Sith furrowed his eyes a bit, having strong vision.

 

“Aye think tae one to bey causin’ such a splash mighta beena human,” Cait Sith concluded, still trying to keep up a pace. Thankfully they had arrived to the peaceful lake, the afternoon sun still shining above it...

 

“Someone’s disposing a body in a lake? How awful,” Natsume commented, but keeping her head up high. “We have to keep on going, who knows if that body might’ve been one the Onimaro Circus might have tried to throw out!”

 

Natsume took off her school jacket and rolled up her sleeves. She tossed it over to Akinori. “Please, hold onto this.”

 

“What do you plan on doing!?” Akinori asked, only to see the girl run into the direction where the splash occurred, jumping into the large body of water. She had to find an answer no matter what at this point.

 

Like everything in the Amano family, Natsume’s swimming ability was well, average. Not fantastic, but not bad either. She kept swimming into the lake, until the felt where she believed the large splash had occurred and then proceeded to dive. There could still be time to see just what happened here…

 

Through the light of the afternoon sun shining through the lake, Natsume could make out the vaguest shape of a humanoid figure slowly sinking into the water. Their descent seemed to have just started by the looks of it, though with the murkiness of the water, it was hard to tell.

 

But Natsume kept pursuing after the strange figure, intrigued and wanting to save them.

 

Fate seemed to have other plans in mind, as the pressure of the water and having held her breath for so long seemed to have start to get to Natsume. Her vision started to get foggier, everything started to blur…

 

…

 

Moments later, she came to, feeling a brief wind before realizing she was on her feet again, and someone was with her, being just as soaked as she was.

 

“T-touma!?” Natsume gasped in shock, still scrambled in the head about everything. Just what was it that saved her and Touma this time? Furthermore, who was responsible for drowning Touma? So many questions, but not enough time for answers.

 

Touma didn’t respond, he barely seemed to move as his breathing was uneasy. For Natsume, it was like carrying a ragdoll of a person, before laying him down on a nearby bench.

 

Once laid down, it was clear Touma was in a lot of pain, the grip of the Kigan Gear having gotten far worse. The only responses he made were small, infrequent yelps, sounding weakened from being nearly drained from so much pain it seemed like.

 

“Natsume!” Akinori called out, just now approaching the scene after Natsume’s diving act. Thankfully he still had her school blazer, nice and dry.

 

The brown haired girl took her jacket, using it to dry herself off. Cait Sith took note of Touma.

 

“Oi ya want us to finnis him off?” Cait Sith asked, bearing out his claws, Cu Sith stopping him.

 

“No! We don’t do that!” Cu Sith protested against Cait Sith’s actions, using his fluffy tail to stop the black and white fairy cat.

 

Shinju observed the situation at hand, closing her eyes for a bit as she focused. Komasan approached and gave a bit of a sniff for her.

 

“It seems he has less than an hour to live...” Komasan announced, Shinju nodding.

 

“The source seems to be from that thing on his arm,” Shinju pointed out, looking quite serious. “It’s dark energy has gotten so strong it’s starting to make it’s way to his Soul Heart, the very core of his being, and if it reaches there well...”

 

Shinju adjusted her glasses. “It will completely consume him and erase him, making him no longer Touma, but very much an unrecognizable and destructive monster that uses his body as a physical host...”

 

“We should do something!” Pixie stated, holding up her hand in a strong desire to save the boy.

 

“Should we do something?” Junior asked, folding his tiny arms. “I mean, he was a bad kid who tried to cause a lot of trouble...”

 

“You said it yourself, Junior,” Natsume commented back, her eyes full of serious determination. “He was a bad kid, but I think there’s some good still left in him.”

 

Natsume looked over to Akinori and Shinju. “You two are yoki magic users, is there anything we can do to save Touma?”

 

“There is a ritual I remember studying about that can heal a corrupting Soul Heart…” Akinori began, looking a bit doubtful. “But it requires a lot of spiritual energy and steps...”

 

Shinju stepped up, looking confident. “Hey, we’re both yoki magic users! If we can combine the powers of the Airhoshi and Tsukimori styles of sorcery, we can have a good chance!”

 

“Really?” Akinori stated in response, Shinju nodding. However, there was a bit more dread.

 

“However, we would need someone to keep things stable, someone with a strong heart...” Shinju added in, seeming to get a bit of doubt back. “And someone to take the risk of going into Touma’s conscious themselves...”

 

“I’ll be the one to keep things stable,” Mai added in, holding out her hand. Everyone looked over at Natsume.

 

“And I’m going to be the one who will go into his conscious...” Natsume finished, the others looking a bit cautious.

 

“But if you go in and there isn’t an ounce of good left in Touma...You’ll both perish and cease to exist...” Akinori stated, Natsume nodding.

 

“Even if the stakes are high, that’s the risk I’m willing to take,” Natsume responded with the most earnest confidence. “I want to reach my heart with his own, and let him know my true feelings.”

 

“I see...” Shinju concluded, before nodding with a determined look. “Alright everyone! Let’s do this!”

 

Akinori and Shinju began to channel powerful spiritual energy, it feeling like the moon and stars themselves from another sky were coming in to help. Shinju took the center, Akinori holding onto Touma’s right hand and Mai taking a hold of Touma’s left hand. Despite her being a normal woman that happens to have a Yokai Watch, Mai was able to stabilize against the darkness of the Kigan Gear pretty well.

 

With all the energy in focus, a large magic circle began to form, and a large door made of mystical runes forming in front of Natsume. Without any other word, Natsume knew to trust her instincts and go through the mystical door...

 

* * *

 

Upon going through, Natsume found herself standing in a playground at an elementary school some years ago, the one she went to all that time ago…

 

It was puzzling at first as to why Natsume was here, but she soon caught sight of a pretty bad looking scene.

 

“Give them back, please!” A much younger Touma cried, struggling to fight against some older kids. One of the older kids pushed him down, holding what looked like a little plush rabbit.

 

“Pssh, do you really want this dumb girly toy back?” One of the bullies sneered, Touma borderlining on crying at this point.

 

“Lala is important to me, she’s a friend!” Touma tried to reason, only for the kids to laugh more.

 

“Oh you even gave it a little name? And think of it as a friend?” Another bully laughed. “How stupid of you! Don’t you think your parents are ashamed of you?”

 

Despite having dirt kicked in his face, it didn’t stop Touma from crying and crying pretty loudly. It seemed all so hopeless, without any sort of good to come out from it.

 

“Hey!” A younger voice of a familiar girl said, making herself known to the bullies. It was none other than Natsume, though much younger.

 

“Don’t you dummies know anything better than to bully someone!?” Natsume asked in a huff, making herself known.

 

“What’s a girl like you gonna do to us?” The bully holding the plush rabbit asked, Natsume balling her tiny little fists.

 

“If you don’t give him back his toy, I’m going to have to teach you a lesson myself!” Natsume responded, holding up her little fists. Even for slightly older bullies, they were intimidated by Natsume.

 

Quickly, the bullies gave Touma his plush bunny back, before running away to leave the two alone.

 

Touma held onto the bunny very close. While he didn’t manage to make eye contact, he did give a very gentle “thank you” that could only be heard by Natsume.

 

“You’re welcome! I’m Natsume!” Natsume introduced herself, Touma nodding.

 

“I’m Touma…!” Touma responded being happy despite not making much eye contact with the girl.

 

The vision ended, the spiritual projections of Natsume and Touma were floating in a deep black space, feeling like a starless sky. Even now, there was at least one star shining in the darkness.

 

“Why was I shown such a glum moment?” Touma wondered, Natsume by his side.

 

“Because I was there to make it just a slight bit better...” Natsume added in. “Even if your memory made you only remember the bad, I’ll be here to help you remember the good...”

 

A new bright vision came around to where Touma and Natsume were floating. “Together we’ll make the best of it...Trust me,” Natsume assured, the next vision coming into full view.

 

The next vision Natsume went over to with Touma was the scene of a nice apartment living room. It was absolutely quiet, not much of a sound to be heard, other than the constant ticking of the clock.

 

Seven o’ Clock the clock read.

 

Looking over to the sofa and coffee table, a much younger Touma was sitting in place, eyes looking down blankly at something. Tears seemed to be streaming down his face, or at least were for a while.

 

That something was a piece of paper, a note addressed to Touma.

 

__Touma,_ _

 

__Happy Birthday, we have to work today, but we will be home by Five o’ clock, we promise._ _

 

__-Mom and dad_ _

 

“Is something the matter?” Natsume asked, the younger Touma being a bit startled, but looking away a bit uneasy yet still managing to stay focused.

 

“They...they didn’t come home...” Touma quietly responded after a few moments, sniffling a bit. “They broke their promise...I’m all alone...and nobody cares...”

 

“Now now, that isn’t true at all,” Natsume tried to lighten things up. Before Touma could try to respond, there was the ringing of the doorbell. Touma covered his ears and looked away.

 

“I wonder who that could be...” Natsume pondered, Touma shaking his head.

 

“It’s...It’s just the mailman...” Touma responded, still a bit uneasy bu the sudden and sharp loud noise. “He really shouldn’t ring the doorbell, it’s so annoying...”

 

“Well, who knows if it’s just the mailman this time,” Natsume suggested to the child. “After all, it might’ve been someone else...”

 

Touma was a bit hesitant, but he slowly made his way over to the door, hoping coming to open the door now would hopefully prevent less of the noisy ringing in the future.

 

Slowly the door was opened, but standing in the doorway was no mailman or not even a door to door salesman.

 

It was a much younger Natsume, being around the same age he was. She looked quite happy to see him, with a neatly wrapped gift in her hands.

 

“Surprise!” The younger Natsume said, Touma being shocked that someone had come over.

 

“How...How did you know?” Touma questioned, Natsume smiling a bit.

 

“I heard a teacher bring it up, so I asked about it and took it upon myself to celebrate it with you,” Natsume cheerfully gave an honest answer. “But...It took me a while since I had to ask my mom and dad...Turns out we don’t live that far away from each other.”

 

“Really?” Touma asked, Natsume nodding.

 

“Yep, we’re even on the same floor!” Natsume answered. “We can hang out more than just outside of recess at school now!”

 

Touma nodded, letting Natsume in, unaware where the older version of her went. It was more like a voice encouraging him, it seemed.

 

“I want you to have this,” Natsume stated, handing the boy her neatly wrapped present. “I’m not sure if you’d like it, but it reminded me of you...”

 

Touma was intrigued, opening up the box and grabbing for the contents within. The gift was that of a plush resembling a mint green lamb, it’s woolly coating being incredibly soft and fluffy to the touch.

 

“I got that for you since you seem to like soft things, right?” Natsume asked, Touma giving a nod as he held the lamb very close to him, feeling the soft mint green faux wool of it.

 

“Mhmm, I love soft things very much...” Touma responded, his voice quiet but very much happy. He gave a gentle smile behind the plush animal he held so close. “T-Thank you…!”

 

The scene faded out, now the sky having just a few more stars in it. The spiritual images of both Touma and Natsume were floating once again.

 

“If only you had opened the door that day...You would have been smiling just like that...” Natsume pointed out, being genuine and sincere.

 

“But, what about my parents...” Touma began to try to oppose, the doubt in him seeming to be strong. “What were they doing that day...”

 

“I can show you,” Natsume responded, another ball of light enveloping Touma’s vision.

 

The vision took the boy to the DNA research facility his parents worked at. It was a pretty busy and chaotic atmosphere, several employees running around. Though a set of two in paricular caught Touma’s eye.

 

“Mafuyu, slow down!” A man, Touma recognizing him as his father, called out to a woman.

 

“Akira, dear, we promised Touma that we were going to not be late today...” Mafuyu, Touma’s mother, responded with hasty yet still gentle tone.

 

Akira was silent for a moment, only for another researcher to come in to the two.

 

“Chief! Dr. Tsukinami,” The other researcher came in, having dashed as fast as he could to catch up to the two. “We’re about to discuss very important and vital research, as our next step after the success of our ten year long research...”

 

“But...we promised our son we would be home today, and we’re already running behind...” Akira responded, being quite torn. The other researcher looked up.

 

“Hey, this is going to concern your son’s future greatly,” The researcher chimed in, the two looking confused.

 

“What do you mean?” Mafuyu asked, a bit concerned for what the researcher was implying.

 

“We’ve been thinking about doing DNA research to help cure mental disabilities, you know, ADHD, Down Syndrome, ASD, so and so forth,” The researcher spoke up, the two looking absolutely shocked at what he was saying. “It’s all a bunch of diseases is it--”

 

“None of those are diseases that need to be cured,” Akira firmly responded, the researcher looking floored.

 

“W-Why are you shooting me down so fast?” The researcher asked hesitantly. “Doesn’t your son have ASD or something? Don’t you want him to be...you know...normal?”

 

The couple were silent for a moment, Mafuyu feeling rather tense by the whole thing.

 

“Rewriting someone like Touma to where he isn’t disabled...he wouldn’t be Touma anymore...” Mafuyu began to speak up, keeping her tone soft but firm. “It’s no a disease or a burden or anything like that...It’s a part of just who he is...”

 

“And he or any of us didn’t choose to have it, nor has any other person with disabilities,” Mafuyu finished her reasoning. “So why should we change someone’s being by force?”

 

“Because they aren’t fit for society, that’s why,” The researcher tried to reason as best he could. “It would make your lives easier, would it not?”

 

“Would you want to erase your child just because they were born with something that made them different?” Akira responded. “However we have the power to try to change society, to make things easier and acceptable for them...”

 

The other researcher was at a loss for words. Akira looked back firmly at the researcher.

 

“I’d advise you to halt any and all research on your destructive proposal,” Akira suggested. “Or else you may face termination.”

 

The researcher didn’t have anything left to say, only leaving bitterly from the two.

 

“Sorry for being so harsh and making us take even longer...” Akira apologized, Mafuyu putting her hand on his shoulder.

 

“It’s alright, one day Touma will come to understand we have to stand up like that because we wouldn’t want people to erase him...” Mafuyu reassured as best she could.

 

“They...stood up for me?” Touma thought aloud to himself, watching as the light made the theoretical night sky in his heart get a bit brighter. More stars seemed to be twinkling.

 

But, there was one last, very important thing that needed to be seen for Touma.

 

The last and final vision took Touma back to the past once more. Outside it was an absolutely beautiful winter day, snow just gently starting to speckle across the earth like fine powdered sugar.

 

It was confusing as to why Touma was being shown such a vision, until he got his answer upon hearing soft crying in the distance, seeing that now the vision focused more onto a hospital room.

 

“Isn’t he such a dear?” Mafuyu asked very gently, her voice being quite exhausted but very overjoyed. Holding close to her was a newborn baby, gently wrapped and kept close. He seemed to have calmed down from the initial crying, as he was now fast asleep.

 

“Yes, yes he is,” Akira agreed, holding out to the small child. “I can tell that he already has your gentleness.”

 

“And he has your strong heart as well,” Mafuyu added in, still smiling gently.

 

“Did we ever decide on a name for him?” Akira asked, Mafuyu looking outside to see the gentle winter scene outside.

 

“I think Touma would be a lovely name for him,” Mafuyu suggested. “It’s like today was extra beautiful to welcome such a wonderful boy into our lives.”

 

Akira gave a gentle smile. “I love that. Touma, we love you very much already.”

 

The family had quite a strong amount of happiness from that vision. Now with that vision from that snippet of time ending, the night sky within Touma’s heart was now absolutely glimmering with light. It was like a beautiful and radiant galaxy had made it’s home within his heart.

 

“Mother...Father...” Touma began, feeling plenty of tears starting to form in his eyes. “I’m...I’m sorry...”

 

His heart couldn’t hold back any longer, as Touma was very clearly crying at this point, letting his heart know how sorry he was for all this that had happened. He wanted to reclaim the lightness back into his heart so dearly…

 

Thankfully, it seemed to have worked. While Natsume’s spirit had joined back into the waking would, four darkened souls had broken out of their cursed chains. The four orbs floated in front of Touma, before breaking from their darkened shells to reveal their true colors: absolutely glimmering and vibrant shades of Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow.

 

“So, it seems the light within your heart has been reclaimed,” The green soul spoke in a wise tone. “And in turn, saved us as well...”

 

“Who are you?” Touma asked, only for the souls to transform into much more humanoid figures, being their true forms.

 

“I am the one known as Yoshitsune,” The green figure spoke, taking the form of a handsome young man with green hair, a red flute and a sword to his side. “While I wield a sword, wisdom is my true blade and greatest weapon.”

 

“The kindness and compassion in your heart, it ended up saving up as well, and we will serve you,” Another figure spoke, being a beautiful young woman in yellow and with pink hair, part of her face obscured by a large purple scarf. “My name is Omatsu, I am happy to bring compassion to those who need it.”

 

“We’re a special type of yokai called Genma, one that have incredible strength and power, but we have to temporarily ‘trade places’ with you when you call one of us,” Another one of the Genma yokai explained, being the blue one that took the form of a large and imposing monk. “Anyways, call me Benkei.”

 

“However, each of us can only be summoned for five minutes at a time, but don’t let that stop you from making me, the great Goemon, from making his debut once again!” The red soul, taking the form of a boisterous swordsman with six arms and flowing purple hair. “Don’t be afraid! Just turn the dial, and call with all your heart!”

 

“Now, rejoin the waking world once more,” Yoshitsune finished, the vision starting to fade as Touma finally came to at long last.

 

* * *

 

 

The Kigan Gear around his arm transforming with light to become a black watch with a distinct multi-colored dial. It wasn’t permanently bound to Touma’s wrist, and it gently went to his side.

 

Slowly but surely, Touma began to sit up before standing, seeming to have been unaffected by nearly drowning in the lake prior. Natsume quickly went up to the boy, absolutely relieved.

 

“Touma, oh thank goodness! You’re alive and okay!” Natsume said with the upmost rejoice, hugging the other. “We were all so worried you were going to be a goner...”

 

Touma didn’t have much else to say, but ended up returning a hug to Natsume. He wasn’t the best with words at times, but his heart sometimes did the talking for him.

 

“Please...understand that you aren’t the mistake and burdern you think you are,” Natsume added in, a heartfelt tone in her words becoming clear. “And I’m always going to be here for you, because I love you.”

 

“Natsume…!” Touma responded with, still happy to be in the hug of the kind girl.

 

“What’s that?” Akinori asked, trying to walk over to pick up the strange black watch over by Touma, only for an electric shock to jolt to the other boy. “Ouch...Why’d it do that?”

 

Touma remembered the watch, picking it back up and putting it on his arm. He remembered Goemon’s words of to not be afraid and turn the dial...Is this what he meant?

 

“That’s a strange watch, one I sure haven’t seen before...” Pixie commented, looking at the black watch.

 

“Looks like tha ol’ kigan gyear’s ol’ rein or terror is f’nnaly ogre,” Cait Sith added in, Touma nodding.

 

“Yokai...Watch...Ogre...” Touma mouthed to himself, looking determined. “That’s what it’s going to be called, then!”

 

“Are yae bloody serious,” Cait Sith responded, completely floored at that of all things is what he chose to call the watch.

 

However, the rejoices and celebrations couldn’t last for long, as a dark shadow appeared in front of the group. The shadow soon revealed themselves to be none other than Jibunkageki.

 

“Fuu...Shame that you pathetic sort had to do as much as survive,” Jibunkageki remarked, transforming her microphone into a whip. “Such a waste of my time...”

 

“Just who are you?” Natsume asked, Jibunkageki stepping back and looking downright offended at what the braided haired girl dared to say at her.

 

“How dare you not know about me, Jibunkageki, the greatest and most marvelous, beautiful, and intelligent being to ever grace any realm!” Jibunkageki yelled, unhappy with the girl. “Even the sun envies my pure radiance and ability to have people revolve around me!”

 

The evil opera singer yokai’s face got more contorted with disgust and anger, focusing her mask covered eyes over to Touma. “And of course there’s you of all people...”

 

“Broken, foolish people like you who waste such precious time and space will be replaced by natural selection, completely erased,” Jibunkageki began, absolutely disgusted. “Why can’t mankind just cage up you disgusting animals? You’re not the same as actual people!”

 

She cracked her whip down, earth tearing apart as a large shadowy cage appeared behind her, and then busted on open. An evil yokai let out a mighty roar, joining to the side of Jibunkageki.

 

The yokai the cursed singer summoned took the form of a large, hideous beast. Their head was like a very angry, hairless rabbit, and instead of ears it had very long fins at the side of their head and some added fangs. Their neck was very, very long, almost like a snake’s entire body, and had freakishly large, talon-like claws. On it’s back it had large, curly dragon-like wings with a pattern of muted out butterfly wings on either side, as well as a very long and curly tail that had some spikes.

 

“This is the finest beast within my possession, one that shows true obedience and power, Jabberwocky!” Jibunkageki introduced the large beast to the group.

 

Touma stood up, making sure the evil yokai could see his watch strapped to his arm. He made sure they both also got a good look at his emotions he was doing his best to display on his face.

 

“I’m different from a lot of people in this world, that’s for certain,” Touma began, his voice a bit uneasy as he wasn’t exactly used to trying to stand up for himself. But in his heart, he knew he had to do it. “But I’m not broken, I don’t need to be fixed...”

 

Touma held onto his watch, starting to touch the dial on it. “I am not a mistake, I’m not some caged animal that needs to be tamed, and I will not have my identity erased because I don’t want to be something other than myself!”

 

“Jabberwocky! Destroy this stupid pile of flesh at once!” Jibunkageki ordered, before retreating back into the shadows. Jabberwocky understood his master’s choices, and started to do a running lunge to the group of kids.

 

“Summoning, Benkei!” Touma began, turning the dial on the Yokai Watch Ogre to point to the blue section. He pressed a switch, a mysterious voice saying “Nine O’ Clock. Benkei”.

 

“Lend me your strength!” Touma yelled with all his heart, pressing down on the popped up watch face that was now glowing with a blue light. Focusing his energy, Touma’s eyes glowed a shade of blue like the deep and vast ocean, before within moments, Touma was no longer there.

 

Standing in place of Touma was the figure of Benkei, being quite huge and imposing compared to everyone else. Everyone else was a bit shocked.

 

“He...He transformed!?” Akinori commented.

 

“Or traded places with a powerful yokai?” Natsume added in, before cheering. “Either way, that’s Touma, show them!”

 

With sheer, immovable strength, Jabberwocky crashed right into Benkei with a loud crashing sound. The beast let out a hiss, trying to knock down the large monk with all his might.

 

But it was to no avail, as with both hands, Benkei sent Jabberwocky crashing into a nearby cliff.

 

Swiftly Benkei returned to his place in the Ogre Watch, Touma returning just to notice Jabberwocky starting to get back up and try to charge in once again.

 

The blue haired boy turned the dial once more, saying “Summoning, Goemon!” and pressing the button. “Twelve O’Clock. Goemon” the watch chimed, the watch face popping up and ready for Touma to press it down.

 

“Lend me your courage!” Touma finished things off, his eyes glowing with a burning red as he quickly switched places with the boisterous Goemon.

 

“Alright, let’s see how you dance!” Goemon taunted at Jabberwocky, the evil yokai starting to charge angrily.

 

Jabberwocky managed to cling his set of front claws onto one of Goemon’s arms, only for the Genma to fling Jabberwocky off and deliver a powerful upper slash.

 

Using his long neck and tail, Jabberwocky managed to trip up Goemon mid-air, but didn’t seem to have enough time to turn his head around to notice the other was getting back up on his feet.

 

“Oh no you don’t! Take this, graceful beheading dance!” Goemon yelled, charging in with all six of his blades ready in a spinning motion. The motions were enough to start bringing Jabberwocky back to the earth once more, finishing things off with a big X-shaped slash.

 

Jabberwocky crashed into the ground, and while wounded, was still not down and out from the fight. He flew right back up, using his large fangs to deeply bite into Goemon’s neck, forcing the Genma to retreat and Touma to return.

 

The beast began to snarl, looking disgusted at Touma. Why wouldn’t this boy just perish? It was what his master wanted!

 

Noticing the beast was charging in at him once more, Touma quickly started to run a bit, getting to higher ground just to avoid the absolutely feral yokai a bit longer.

 

“Summoning, Yoshitsune!” Touma yelled, turning the dial over to the green section of the Yokai Watch Ogre, pressing the grey button to have the watch face pop out. “Six O’Clock. Yoshitsune” the watch stated once more.

 

“Lend me your wisdom!” Touma shouted, his eyes gleaming with a gentle and calming emerald green as the smallest yet wisest genma appeared in his place, gently playing the flute to mark his entrance.

 

In response to this strange, pretty boy yokai appearing in front of him, Jabberwocky let out another nasty snarl, claws being out and fangs ferociously bared.

 

While the evil being tried to cut Yoshitsune down to size, the small Genma managed to avoid being slashed with swift movements.

 

“Interesting...” Yoshitsune commented on the matter, still keeping his focus. He even managed to avoid much of the beast’s snips and scratches with his eyes closed, trying to see into the soul of the yokai.

 

“I think I see it now…!” Yoshitsune concluded, jumping over to the back of the monster. Jabberwocky managed to follow Yoshitsune by turning his long neck, and roared once more and ready to bite his face off.

 

The two chased for a few more moments, before Yoshitsune reached Jabberwocky’s tail. At the absolute last possible moment in time, the green Genma managed to jump out of the way, having Jabberwocky give a hard bite on his tail.

 

Letting out a howl of the utmost pain, Jabberwocky was immobile, his weak point being exposed. The time with Yoshitsune was up, leaving Touma to return once more. It was now time to finish this off.

 

“Summoning, Omatsu!” Touma shouted, turning the dial over to the yellow part of the watch. With the click of the side switch, the watch announced “Three O’Clock, Omatsu” as the watch face popped up.

 

“Lend me your kindness!” Touma let out with his heart, eyes glowing a bright, sunkissed yellow as he clicked down on the watch face.

 

Finally, the last Genma appeared, the graceful and elegant Omatsu, her fan in hand and folded out.

 

For Jabberwocky, however, he didn’t take well to suddenly some pretty lady. He lunged his massive fangs at the Genma with his long neck, Omatsu’s eyes focusing.

 

“Please...don’t!” Omatsu said, her voice graceful and elegant, even after literally kicking the beast’s teeth in with a strong kick. The wicked being crashed into the earth once more, Omatsu starting to focus some energy.

 

“Now!” Omatsu called forth, starting to gracefully dance around the fallen Jabberwocky. It was mesmerizing, flower petals trailing behind the beautiful woman. Soon, the petals became beautiful flowers, surrounding the large creature.

 

“And good day!” Omatsu finished, the flowers creating an explosive blossoming effect, many flowers starting to bloom all over Jabberwocky until the being was completely enveloped in a powerful light to top it all off, petals scattering everywhere.

 

The graceful Genma returned to her part in the Yokai Watch Ogre, and Touma returning back once more. Everyone soon ran up to the boy, who looked pretty winded out.

 

“Are you alright?” Natsume asked, letting the boy lean on him. He simply gave a nod to let Natsume know he was doing alright.

 

“That was so cool...how did you do all that?” Akinori asked, eyes glimmering from the battle spectacle Touma put on.

 

“I think it was the power of my heart that called forth the Genma yokai...” Touma pondered, still a bit tired from all the transforming he did as well as nearly being drowned from earlier.

 

“Genma Yokai huh...” A mysterious voice began, sounding noble and powerful. “I’ve never think I’ve witnessed such a power...”

 

Standing where Jabberwocky once stood was now a majestic looking yokai that had the front body of a mighty eagle and the rest of his body was that of a majestic lion. His mane and tips of wings were like the bright blue daytime sky, and his body a dark red like the rising sun. He had golden ankle bands and a single gold earring, as well as feathers around his mane and gold and silver eyes that were a beaming yellow and scarlet. Around his wings were a set of vivid butterfly wings that were yellow and scarlet as well, shining powerfully.

 

“Who are you?” Touma asked, the majestic beast giving a small pose and nod, the late afternoon sun starting to gleam across the beast.

 

“I am Genjuu Gryphon! One of the great guardians of the Fae Yokai with the might of the sun!” Genjuu Gryphon formally introduced himself.

 

“Ohoho, a Genjuu in our neck of the woods?” Whisper stated, quite intrigued by the majestic beast. “Seeing one is a rarity, and who knew the Fae Yokai had their own guardian beasts!”

 

“Indeed, I take it you aren’t too familiar with the Bestial Guardians of the Fae realm...” Gryphon began, tilting his head a little and scratching behind his ear. “Nor do I really have much of a clue how I got here, but I do know one thing...”

 

“Oh?” Natsume questioned, Gryphon looking serious.

 

“The ones running the Onimaro Circus aren’t merely some crazy lot trying to revive Nyx...” Gryphon began, his eyes getting more and more intense. “They’re actually aspects of Nyx trying to revive their master, so they can cause cease to all that live.”

 

“So there’s aspects of a larger entity trying to bring it back?” Touma stated, Gryphon giving a nod to confirm the boy’s statement.

 

“Yes, and they are quite dangerous and powerful, so I’d best try to seek help in strong yokai allies, and use the strength of your bonds,” Gryphon prompted. “You’re already at a good start, but Jibunkageki and the ringleader, Shiki-Sharu, are very powerful and dangerous...”

 

“You can be sure to count on us!” Akinori reassured to the majestic beast. Gryphon smiled from his beak.

 

“There is also another thing...My powers and presence are tied to the light of the sun. Once the sun sets, I will fade away, but I will return with the rising sun...” Gryphon added in, looking hastily at the fastly setting sun. “It wasn’t always like this, however...”

 

“Who cursed you like this?” Natsume asked, Gryphon looking frantically. The sun wasn’t getting any higher at this rate…

 

“The one who cursed me to be bound by the sunlight was none other than...” Gryphon tried to say, only for the lack of sunlight to get to him, causing him to fade out completely. Though, there was at least one thing left behind…

 

Where Gryphon once stood was a triangular disc, having a pattern resembling a stained glass window with a depiction of Gryphon on it. Natsume was the one to pick up the strange triangular disc.

 

“This doesn’t look like any sort of Arc I’ve seen before...” Natsume thought to herself, holding the triangular disc intrigued, but very confused. Mai and Shinju looked around.

 

“Wow, I never realized it was getting this late now...” Mai commented, looking around worriedly. Natsume tiled her head to ask the two women.

 

“Are you going to help us in trying to defeat the Onimaro Circus? Gryphon said we needed to find powerful allies...” Natsume asked, both women shaking their heads.

 

“As much as we’d like to help directly, we really can’t,” Shinju responded with a shrug. “Since if you rely too much on us, very seasoned, experienced folks in the yokai field, what’s going to happen if we can’t back you up? Since we might be caught up with things like work or our personal lives.”

 

“What’s important is one thing, your enemies are your enemies, and you have to face them,” Mai added in, looking determined yet sweet. “It’s simply part of growing up and becoming stronger.”

 

“But,” Mai started to finish, a bright smile on her face. “With the three of you and your yokai friends, you guys can face up against the Onimaro Circus and whatever evil lurks in your path. I can feel the power in your hearts as something strong and truly unique...”

 

“Akinori, your magic skills will come in handy, even if you don’t get a watch yourself,” Shinju added in with a bold smile on her face. “Use your sorcery to the best of your abilities, your friends will need it.

“Heh, I’ll keep that in mind!” Akinori responded to Shinju’s words.

 

“And you, Touma, the world is very difficult for you, but don’t let that taint your gentle heart,” Mai spoke up to the student she knew from long ago. “If you need me and need someone to talk to, I’ve managed to transfer to your school.”

 

“We’ll be sure not to let you down, Mrs. Suzuki, Mrs. Tsukimori,” Touma stated, keeping his head up high.

 

“Excellent,” Mai sweetly responded, starting to take her leave with Shinju. “Keep true to your heart, and everything will be alright!”

 

The trio of teens waved goodbye to the older women, before realizing it was getting pretty late after a long and eventful day. Everyone started to head their own ways, something making it into Touma’s coat pocket.

 

“Huh…?” Touma pondered, holding out the strange object that made it into his possession. It was a Yokai Arc, and the one for Cu Sith. Maybe he had slipped it in when he was unconscious? He didn’t have the Elder Watch, but maybe it was because the fairy dog saw him as a friend…?

 

* * *

 

Elsewhere, in a bit of an offbeat part of town, a strange figure was busy sorting around animal food in a re-purposed abandoned animal shelter. A lot of the furniture was old, but the figure was surprised he was able to get a nice television set.

 

The figure took the form of a biker, with wild teal hair that had part of it dyed bright orange. His eyes were serpentine, and around his neck was a tattered yellow scarf.

 

His television set was on, and several cats were following him around. A breaking news report was being broadcast.

 

“Breaking news for tonight,” the newscaster began, profile photos showing an older looking man. “Famed creator of popular children’s manga Nyanpan Rider 018, Karou Hayashi, has been found dead in his home last night, presumably by murder...”

 

“Huh…?” The biker figure stated, sitting on the couch to take a further look. One of the cats jumped to join next to him on the ratty old catch.

 

“...Cases of his death are under investigation, but many suspect his son, Kaira Hayashi, might have had something to do with it,” The newscaster reported. “Currently, Kaira is serving a sentence in prison, where he will either remain there or be released upon finding out he is innocent...”

 

“Typical news, always over dramatic and overblown for the sake of views...” The biker commented, trying to look for the remote to change the channel. Upon finding the remote again, he flipped the channel to something more calm and less dramatic.

 

Unaware of what was in store for him in the future, the animal loving biker just shut off the television and headed for bed. Unbeknownst to him, there was a small shadow, about the size of a small cat or a puppy, nuzzling next to him.

 


	6. Everything's Nice, Sugar and Spice

 

A day had passed since the long and eventful day with the encounter with Cu Sith, the cleansing of the Kigan gear, freeing Touma's heart, fighting Jabberwocky and meeting Gryphon, a legendary beast of the Fae Yokai.

Needless to say, everyone appreciated getting much needed rest after such an eventful day. However, despite the fine rest everyone had gotten, there were still things like school and training everyone needed to attend to for the day.

So for now, our focus shifts elsewhere, back into the mysterious old animal shelter. With streaks of daylight pouring into the makeshift living space, The biker figure from earlier was getting ready on a motorcycle, looking sleek and intimidating.

He was also looking over some dogs and a few cats. The teal haired man folded his arms.

"Now, you best behave yourselves," He spoke up, as if these were his children. "I've set out plenty of food and water. Also, make sure she doesn't go anywhere that she shouldn't, got it?"

The dogs and cats seemed to have understand what he was saying, going off back out of the makeshift garage and move back into the living areas. Knowing that they understood, the biker got onto his bike, starting it up.

A small, short while had passed, sights setting on a prison out of town. It was pretty heavy guarded, several officers looking around sternly around the glum looking facility. This biker, however, thought he could simply roll up to the entrance of the place like he worked there. Several shadows seemed to have been behind him, but quickly went into hiding out of suspicious sight.

"Halt!" One of the armed guards said, pointing a gun. "Just who do you think you are!?"

"You can't just walk up like you own the place!" The other one added in, the biker figure folding his arms and looking smugly.

"Name's Shichimi, I'm an Orochi, and yokai of the Goriki tribe," The biker, Shichimi, introduced himself, keeping a smug look. "All I'm here is to pick up my boss, that's all."

"Great, you're just speaking utter nonsense," One of the guards stated back to Shichimi. "We already had to lock up one crazy person who had freaky snake eyes, we don't need another!"

"If you keep this up, we're taking you in for questioning," The other guard told Shichimi boldly. "Because we won't let you do anything  _ _slippery__  on our watch, you hear?"

"Just take me in for questions?" Shichimi responded, sounding bored. His eyes seemed to gleam with something, a strange aura began to surround him.

Shichimi snapped his fingers. "Come on out! Let's break some rules and do some crimes!"

Rushing out of the shadows came five differing figures, seeming to get the aura Shichimi had.

"An eagle!" The first guard noted, trying to shoot down what looked like a normal Golden Eagle with a snazzy little red scarf. However, the bullets were completely ineffective on them, the bird swooping down to intimidate the guards by unleashing their large talons and beak.

It caused the other guard to start stumbling into the moat that surrounded the prison, only to find an unpleasant surprise.

"A-And a shark, too!" The other guard stated in a panic, now being seen eye to eye with an angry looking Sand Shark. The shark chased the other guard around, the first one calling in for backup as Shichimi kept on proceeding inwards.

Once inside the building, more guards were ready to take down Shichimi, who was just casually walking in like he was going to order a burger and fries to go.

More armed guards were ready, willing to figure out how to take down this unstoppable snake. The golden eagle befriended by Shichimi perched on his arm.

"Don't move another step, and put your hands up!" The squadron of guards yelled at Shichimi, the serpentine man only smiling. The orange and teal haired yokai gave a snap of his fingers, as a new charge came in.

"A-A Lion!" One of the guards pointed out, noticing an East African Lion charging in, bullets completely bouncing off of them. The lion let out a mighty roar, pouncing down any and all guards that tried to stand in their way.

But the fight wasn't quite over yet, as several more guards were still there and standing. These guards soon ended up getting a bad surprise when a large and imposing figure charged from behind Shichimi.

"And they have an elephant too!" The squadron commented back, frightened by the sheer force and audacity of an Asian Elephant slowly, but majestically breaking in, being completely unshaken by the guard's feeble efforts to fight back.

There were only a few guards standing in the way, but they were soon frightened off by Shichimi's final animal ally making the charge in after the elephant made ways for them.

"And they have a tiger on their side!" The final group of guards yelled, being pursued by an albino Malayan Tiger, angry and with it's claws bared. Not even armed guards were a match for an invincible, majestic beast.

Shichimi's eagle friend had flown off during the whole charge, but came back to their friend's side with a key in talon. The eagle gave Shichimi the key, the biker smiling.

"Alright, this is just what we needed…!" Shichimi grinned, clutching onto the key, running through the halls of the prison without any guard to dare to stop him in his path. "Thanks, Yama! Now let's go!"

Steel doors forged with cutting edge technology were nothing, as Shichimi made his way to one of the highest security units, feeling the yoki aura. He put the key into the door's hole and unlocked it, kneeling down afterwards.

"Your majesty of the Izana Tribe..." Shichimi announced, sounding noble. "It is I who has set you free from your falsely charged crimes, so let us make haste..."

There wasn't a word of response from the cell. This made Shichimi worry, quickly getting up and opening the door himself.

Opening the door, it was a bit of a dimly lit cell, a stunning young man with medium length blue hair and rather...flashy white and blue clothes sat in the middle of the cell, chained down.

What really threw Shichimi off was a medium sized shadow, but quickly disappearing upon more light spilling into the room. Just where did it go…?

"Great Snake King Kaira, your majesty!" Shichimi yelled, quickly running over to the supposed king's aid and breaking off his chains. Thankfully he was still alive, just unconscious by the looks of things.

Kaira didn't have anything to say in response, Schichimi biting the hypothetical bullet and carrying the snake king piggy back style.

Despite his rather thin stature, Shichimi had a surprising amount of upper body strength, enough to carry someone else on his back with relative ease. His animal friends were still there, waiting for him as the biker snake quickly made his escape, going through a small portal to what looked like another world, another realm…

Entering the other realm looked that of a more brightly colored depiction of ancient Japan, with several eye motifs to boot. At least, that's what it looked in the horizon, where Shichimi took Kaira was that of a pretty distant looking mansion. It was nice, yes, but a bit outdated with age.

Shichimi snuck in by simply breaking down a nearby window, laying Kaira down on a nearby sofa and closing the window.

Kaira slowly started to wake up, feeling dizzy in the head. "What...What happened?"

"Simple," Shichimi began, turning on the lights, but keeping it dim enough not to startle the snake king. "I broke you out of prison, your majesty."

"But..." Kaira began, still a bit hazy and confused, no clue what to say. "Wasn't it a high security prison?"

"Yeah but a human world one," Shichimi answered back, sounding smug. "It was built like a wet paper bag, nor did that prison really expect supernatural visitors."

Kaira was silent for a moment, taking a moment to think. Something just didn't feel right, like a piece of the puzzle was missing. Was it really that easy to break into somewhere with such high security?

"Besides, you weren't the one who killed your pops, were you?" Shichimi added in, the skane king's thoughts getting back together from that simple statement.

"Of course I didn't!" Kaira snapped back, being rather agitated despite his exhaustion. Why was so many things running weird in his mind? It felt clouded, but he had to keep focusing.

"I remember hearing a loud and horrfying noise in the night..." Kaira began with trying to inform his fellow serpentine yokai. "...And when I got there, my dad's body was there. I had to make sure he was still alive...Reaching out just in case..."

Kaira clenched his fist and bit down on his pale lip, trying not to swell up with tears. He was a man, he shouldn't cry, but he couldn't help it. It was overhwelming, to where now tears ran down the snake king's face.

"I just ended up getting covered in blood, and with no weapons or other evidence on the scene, they assumed I was guilty..." Kaira finished, slamming his fist on the arm of the couch. It was the only way he could really let out his pent up anger.

"This is what I get for being neither human or yokai, just a freakish mix of both? Yokai won't accept me, humanity won't accept me, what's the point anymore?" Kaira cursed, trying not to let the emotions in his heart get to the better of him, but failing.

Hearing such words, it gave Shichimi an idea. "Say, aren't you friends with Great King Enma?"

"Sorta," Kaira began, still steething with emotions. "We haven't talked much in years, so we've grown distant..."

"Maybe it's a good idea to talk to him about this, see if you can unleash hell on those who called you guilty," Shichimi suggested, something flickering in Kaira's eyes for a moment.

"...I'll find my own way..." Kaira smiled, summoning his black and blue blade known as the Snake King Sword. "And I'll be sure to go after Enma!"

Without another word, Kaira had stormed off, something seeming to spark in his eyes. Something that was determined, but not the good kind. It left Shichimi feeling suspicious, but glad his master had a goal now, after being broken out of prison.

Though, after moments of thinking in the old mansion of the snake lord, Shichimi realized something. Something he had to go do, and check right here, and right now...

* * *

Elsewhere, back in the normal lives of things, school had ended for the day, everyone starting to head their ways back home.

"Hey, hey Touma!" Natsume happily stated, coming out to meet the boy from their differing classrooms. "You up for your inaugural meeting as part of the Yokai Detective Agency?"

Touma was quite a bit startled by the chipper girl's catching him off guard. It took him a moment, clearly being a bit scrambled, before remembering.

"Oh that," Touma began to respond, looking a bit worried. "Bad news is right now I have an after school meeting with Mrs. Suzuki. Nothing major, just kind of like a therapy appointment if that makes sense? Shouldn't be longer than an hour..."

"Oh no worries Touma, I forgot you said you were going to meet her after school today," Natsume reassuringly responded. "I'll let Akinori know it'll be postponed for about an hour, alright?"

"T-Thanks…!" Touma thanked, Natsume waving off before heading out the front doors. She put her hand to her chin, thinking in deep thought.

"Just how am I going to kill time for an hour?" Natsume thought aloud, starting to walk out of the front gates of the school. What to do, what to do, those were the thoughts that circled through her head…

It was at that moment she noticed a particular tiny yokai floating nearby, Natsume making sure to catch his attention.

"Junior!" Natsume waved, the tiny red orb of a yokai floating down upon hearing the voice of the young teen. Though, Natsume seemed a bit worried for the little yokai, looking around.

"Do you know where Whisper or Jibanyan are? It's dangerous to wander alone you know..." Natsume asked, Junior giving a small shrug.

"Dunno, papa was lookin after me, but he said he needed to get some chocobars," Junior explained, seeming a bit relaxed about the whole situation. "But then Jii-tan got distracted by chasing a little butterfly..."

"Oh dear, then we should head back to where your pops is, right?" Natsume suggested, the little red yokai giving a nod.

"Yep! Though Jii-tan thinks something was wrong with that butterfly..." Junior pondered about, floating by Natsume as the two started to make their way to where Junior and Jibanyan were earlier in the day.

"How so?" Natsume wondered, confused by what the yokai meant.

"Like...Jii-tan feels like something else was chasing after it?" Junior responded, rubbing his single ear with his tiny hand in frustrated confusion. It was all a bit much to process for the child, goodness. "It was strange..."

"Interesting..." Natsume concluded, keeping in mind Junior's words. The rest of the way over to the meeting spot, a local candy shop, was brisk yet silent. A butterfly with a strange aura, huh? It could have been simply Junior's child-like imagination, or it could have been an actual yokai. Such things were hard to tell sometimes…

Upon arriving, the familiar red feline yokai was waiting for the two, or at least just one of them. In his rough but snow white paws were some Chocobars, one for himself and one for Junior. Jibanyan looked up, surprised to see Natsume on the scene.

"Hm, wasn't expecting to see you around, Natsume," Jibanyan quipped, but gave a smile to the two. "Glad you were able to find Junior there, I was about to go look for him. Kids these days sometimes..."

"No problem, I'm thankful he didn't go too far honestly," Natsume sheepishly responded, Junior floating over to get his Chocobar. "Do you mind if I hang out with you two? I have about an hour or so to spare until we have to go meet up with the others."

"Sure sure," Jibanyan agreed with, opening up his chocobar and lounging around like a cat would. It felt oddly nostalgic to be lounging in such a way, munching away at chocolaty treats.

Junior on the other hand, was having a bit of trouble opening his chocobar, but after some strong bites on the bright foil wrapping, the tiny yokai was able to get into the sugary contents.

"Alright! Time to-" Junior tried to announce, only for a swift shadow from the ground to jump up and take the chocolaty treat from the tiny yokai.

"W-What the!?" Junior gasped, getting pretty angry. "That was Jii-tan's chocobar! First you try to chase that butterfly, now this!"

The shadow thankfully stayed pretty still, Natsume giving a glare as she readied her Yokai Watch Elder. "Oh no you don't!"

Shining the watch's light on the shadow, it slowly took it's true form of just who the mysterious candy thief.

To the surprise of the group, the shadow's true form was a small yokai, with the general size and appearance of a normal human baby. Well, aside from the grey skin, pointy ears, black scelra, and snow white hair. At least they seemed to have bright blue eyes like the sky above, a big yellow bow in their hair.

The baby yokai didn't have anything to say, just held onto the chocobar confused as they sucked on their light yellow pacifer in deep thought.

"So, a baby that stole candy from a baby..." Jibanyan remarked, surprised to see the scene at hand.

"Give it back!" Junior yelped, shifting his form around to try and get his treat back. The baby was surprisingly restive, holding it just out of reach. Jibanyan crossed his paws.

"That Kage Orochi is just a little tyke," Jibanyan told his son with a stern yet heartfelt glare. "Whisper probably taught you about using the P word, then you take it back by force if they don't comply."

Junior gave a bit of a sigh, looking at the thieving baby. "Can Jii-tan please have my chocobar back? Please?"

Seems using it twice clicked in the other tiny yokai's mind, their tiny hands extending and gently giving the chocobar back. Though they seemed a bit saddened by the fact.

"Chippu..." The baby yokai babbled to themselves a bit glum. Natsume and Jibanyan looked puzzled.

"Do you know what that yokai said?" Jibanyan asked, Natsume shaking her head.

"Beats me, maybe Junior knows," Natsume responded, Junior's face puffing up a little.

"Jii-tan is not a baby!" Junior huffed, but twitched his ear a little. "But, she seems unhappy that she had to give it back, she just wants something to snack on."

"Well if that's the case..." Natsume stated, quickly darting into the store as fast as she could to quickly grab something. Within a few brief moments in time, she returned with something in her hand. Extending her hand out, Natsume revealed it to be a little lolipop, not too big but not too small that the tiny yokai could choke on it.

"Would you like this?" Natsume asked, kneeling down to the tiny baby.

"Chippu!" The baby responded, reaching out her tiny hands to swap out her pacifier for the sweet and sugary lolipop.

"She says thank you," Junior translated, Natsume smiling and giving the tiny yokai a pat on the head.

"You're welcome, goodness you're a cute one aren't you," Natsume softly said, looking a bit puzzled. "What's your name?"

"Chippu….Sooouuu...Gaa..." The tiny baby spoke back cheerfully, Natsume being a bit confused, Junior soon filling the teen girl in.

"Her name is Sugar!" Junior proclaimed, Sugar giving a nod.

"Sugar huh?" Jibanyan stated, tilting his head a little. "What an odd name to give a pretty dangerous yokai..."

"I don't think stealing candy and chasing butterflies qualifies as being dangerous..." Natsume confusedly responded, Sugar wanting to be picked up by the girl and getting her wish of being held. Jibanyan merely shook his head, pinching his hypotehtical brow a bit.

"No no, you see, she's clearly a Kage Orochi," Jibanyan started to explain. "They're the manifested shadows of Orochi, a type of deadly assassin yokai, and thus, they're just as dangerous if not moreso. We're thankful that she's just a harmless lil squirt now..."

Junior looked in deep thinking. "Wait...so if those yokai you said spawn from another...Does that mean Sugar has a papa of her own?"

The other two looked surprised at the younger yokai's words, realizing they might've stepped into something dangerous.

"Oh..." Jibanyan spoke up, looking worried.

"Whoever Sugar's parent is...they might be worried..." Natsume wondered, Jibanyan looking uneasy.

"I mean, Kage Orochis tend to be abandoned from the Orochi they spawn from, but if there's a fight to be picked I'll be sure to pick it!" Jibanyan responded, gently punching his fist into one of his paws and looking ready to fight.

Sugar looked up confused about everyone's talking, but did pick up one thing amongst it all.

"Chippu...chippu...papa…!" Sugar cooed, the trio looking shocked.

"So you do have a dad..." Jibanyan concluded.

"Do you know what he looks like?" Natsume asked the little baby yokai sweetly but alas…

With a tiny little yawn, Sugar was fast asleep, not bothering to wake up to enjoy a peaceful rest. That's how a lot of babies worked, they slept for most of the day and only would wake up for food or other needs, guess human babies and yokai babies are just the same.

"It's a good thing we have a yokai detective agency going," Natsume reassured, though keeping her voice soft as not to wake up Sugar from her nap. "Since we can hopefully solve this case and get Sugar back home safe and sound!"

Time simply could not be wasted at this moment, Natsume and the others heading over to the office of operations for the Yokai Detective Agency. It had been about an hour or so, so everyone should be here and hopefully ready to take on a pretty large case.

Stars were aligning in Natsume's favor, as Akinori and Touma were already waiting for her in the office. She slid open the door, her eyes filled with pure shock, startling the other two.

"Natsume!" Akinori yelped, looking just as shocked as Natsume. "What on earth happened?"

"Shhh not so loud," Natsume slightly scolded back, gesturing to Sugar who was still fast asleep. Thankfully the noise didn't seem to disturb the tiny yokai. "Long story short, we're going to have to go on a snake hunt for this yokai's papa."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Akinori chimed in, starting to stand up. "Let's split up, gang!"

"My my, what a timless phrase," Whisper commented on the matters, floating near Natsume. "I believe it might be best if I look after the child, it gives you more freedom of arm movement and mobility."

"Good point, Whisper," Natsume agreed with the ghost, handing over Sugar gently to the dapper butler. "Good luck, we'll contact you once we find her papa."

With that, everyone was out and on a search all up and down through town. Where on earth could Sugar's papa be exactly? More specifically, who is he? Many mysteries awaited the young detective agency.

Hopefully the search wouldn't take too long.

* * *

Two and a half hours have passed, and there have been exactly zero leads. All and up around town Natsume, Touma, and Akinori were talking with any specter or serpent they could find. It was always the same response, utter confusion and nothing of true and real value.

The three met in a rather messy but quiet and peaceful rock quarry. It wasn't the most ideal place, but maybe out in the open a clue would turn up. Who knew at this point, it all seemed just a little bit hopeless, but they had to keep trying.

"So, we've ended up finding out nothing..." Touma began, being pretty tired from looking around. "I haven't done that much talking in ever..."

"Same, I swear I was going crazy when I was asking actual snakes," Akinori added, being just as distressed as everyone else.

"At least we tried, maybe we can keep doing it more tomorrow?" Natsume suggested, but it was clear in her tone she was a bit glum as well, sulking and kicking a nearby small rock. "How are we going to even find the kid's papa?"

The kick of the small rock ended up going high into the sky, but nobody noticed that there was a bird flying over head. While the force of the rock wasn't enough to knock the bird out, but it was enough to anger it.

"What's that?" Touma asked, pointing up to the sky at a small flying figure. Akinori gave a shrug.

"It's probably just a normal sparrow...Dunno why it's flying down here," Akinori quipped, Touma looking up further at the figure getting closer.

"Uh...Akinori, I don't think it's just a sparrow..." Touma muttered, the flying bird becoming a lot more clearer.

The bird in question was not just a tiny sparrow, but rather a large Golden Eagle, a small red scarf around it's neck. It gave a loud screech, as if it wanted everyone in this abandoned quarry to hear it's call. It swooped back up, not seeming to want to harm the three young teens.

But, there was a large shadow forming underneath the three. It was getting bigger and bigger, longer and longer. Everyone tried to run but…

A massive serpent emerged from the shadows, everyone being knocked off it's back. The serpent had a dark teal body with a trim of burgundy fur and a cream underside. The upper body and face of the snake had sharp, metal plates all over it, with a wild dark mane tipped with bright orange and piercing yellow eyes. Around it's neck were two serpents made of aqua colored aura, going through what looked like rings of fire.

"W-what is that thing?" Natsume asked, dusting herself off from falling over.

The serpent's only words were that of loud hissing. Whatever it was, it didn't look too happy. It's sharp fangs were bared, seeming to seep with the venom of eight snakes. It was starting to make it's move towards the three, fangs ready to bite into them and seep them with a deadly venom.

Taking note of this sticky situation, Akinori began to focus some mystical yoki energy, drawing a star shape into the air and grabbing it.

"Don't even think about running your mouth off!" Akinori remarked, throwing the energy to the serpent's mouth. A magical rune appeared around the mouth of the beast, sealing it's mouth shut, at least for now.

However, the serptine yokai wasn't without it's plans, as the aura dragons around it's neck decided to take the charge for their master. They weren't nearly as big, nor were they seeping with posionus venom, but they could still hurt.

Before Akinori could even try to combat against these dragons, they already knocked the boy over. Thankfully, the group of young teens weren't without a plan.

"Natsume, take these," Touma started to give instructions to the girl, handing her two key like objects with green markings. They were none other than the arcs for Cu Sith and Komasan.

"How did you get these?" Natsume asked, being almost unaware of the impending danger.

"Cu Sith gave me his arc, Mrs. Suzuki gave me Komasan's at the end of my session with her," Touma rather hastily explained, holding onto the dial of the Yokai Watch Ogre with a tense expression. The two were under fire, and it seemed there wasn't a lot of time to waste asking questions.

"Summoning, Goemon!" Touma began with his speech, the wristwatch mystically chiming with "Twelve O'Clock. Goemon" as the boy's eyes glowed a burning red with a press of the watch's silver switch.

"Lend me your courage!" Touma finished, pressing down on the watch face and within a flash, the much more foreboding and boisterous Goemon was in his place.

Wasting no time, the spiritual dragon heads tried to lunge at Goemon, but the large warrior slashed through their sharp, fang bearing heads like a hot knife through butter.

"Wahaha! You are no match for-" Goemon tried to gloat, but noticing something off about the whole ordeal. Slowly, the snake heads were reforming, and instead of two, it was now four!

The situation was going from under control to starting to slip out of control, and Natsume absolutely took note. She got out not one, but four arcs she has collected, unlocking the face of the Yokai Watch Elder by turning the lock counterclockwise. The voice within saying "Shadow! Unseelie!" chimed.

"Summoning not one, but four of my friends!" Natsume began, hovering all four of the arcs over the face of the elder watch. "Omamori Komasan and Cu Sith, Mononoke Jibanyan and Big Ears!"

From the dark shadows, the two monstrous feline and the two roughened hound yokai appeared behind Natsume, charging in and ready to fight.

"Aight ya big an' ugly, lettsa git rough now!" Big Ears started, his large claws ready to fight. A large grin was smeared around his face.

"Six ayrmes cann't be good for yae unless yer a buhg, so let'settle this now!" Big Ears started, aiming for Goemon, thinking he was the enemy in question. However, Jibanyan took note of the cat trying to attack their ally, grabbing the other feline by the tail. Big Ears didn't seem to mind, his mind was to busy in battle he didn't noticed his direction was now headed to the four aura snakes.

"At least try to aim for the actual enemy," Jibanyan quipped to the cat, thankful the other managed to strike down two of the four aura heads. Using his feline insinct, he picked up on something.

"Oh no you don't, not on my watch!" Jibanyan remarked, noticing how the heads were reforming, he jumped up, his paws ready in the air.

"Hundred Feline Fists!" Jibanyan let out his iconic soultimate attack with a shout, punching repeatedly hundreds of times. This time, there didn't seem to be a delay, as it struck instantly, leaving the two aura snakes down. Two down, two to go at this point.

Komasan and Cu Sith were already working on getting things done with the other two aura snakes, clawing and gnawing at them like a teething puppy to a chew toy, and with the amount of energy too. The two shook their heads with the aura snakes in jaw, trying to dissipate them as best they could with their hound like strength.

The two heads disappeared, leaving the heads to slowly start to reform, and the dog duo let go. But only briefly, as they focused energy.

"Falling Dog Rock! Three Barks to the end!" Komasan then Cu Sith called out their attacks, a large komainu rock falling onto the aura snakes and then Cu Sith letting out three powerful barks that caused a sound wave. By the third mighty howl, the aura snakes were all completely gone.

Victory could not be celebrated right now, as the main, large head of the serpentine beast finally broke free from it's bonds, letting everyone know it was angry with a mighty, roaring hiss.

"No, you aren't going to defeat me, big fella!" Goemon stated, starting to slash and hack away at the snake's face to try and break off the armor around it's face. A few dents were being made, but it seemed to be far less effective than expected, as Goemon found himself on his toes a lot more trying to dodge out of sharp, venomous bites from such a beast.

"Take this, your song is ov-" Goemon tried to yell in victory, reaching his arms close to the venom seeping fangs of the snake. However, the snake yokai took this as a perfect opportunity to give a bite down on one of the six arms of the Genma. The bite sent a powerful, shocking venom all throughout Goemon, rendering him completely useless, like a perfectly good paper bag being thrown into a large body of water.

After the biting of the Genma, the serpent managed to throw Goemon crashing through the other four summoned yokai like a bowling ball striking down bowling pins and scoring a perfect strike. Such a strike made the five crash onto the ground, Goemon going back into the Yokai Watch Ogre and returning Touma to the waking world, and reverting Jibanyan, Komasan, Cait Sith, and Cu Sith back into their lightside and seelie forms.

"Oh no..." Natsume spoke to herself in worry, feeling backed up into a corner now. This yokai...this yokai was far out of their league at this point it seemed...And why of all days, did she have to leave the arcs for Pixie and Seiya back home? It was like forgetting a card that you never thought you'd need, but you ended up needing that day…

The large serpent started to approach, only to stop upon hearing a faint sound and seeing something hurriedly whizzing through the sky, coming to the aid of Natsume.

"Ah so this is where you all went," Whisper began, looking quite worried and frantic. "I tried to call you, but you didn't seem to answer."

"Well, we're kind of in a bad situation right now..." Natsume responded, panickedly pointing to the large serpent yokai. "So make it quick, please."

"You see..." Whisper started with his reasoning for being here, revealing that he was carrying Sugar with him. She had tears in her eyes. "She started crying for no reason, and I don't know how to make her stop! Not even junior could figure out what's wrong!"

Just as Whisper finished, the tiny baby yokai began to cry and bawl again, being quite loud and distressed. Natsume was gently given the baby to hold, trying to rock her.

"Shh shh, it's okay Sugar, it's okay..." Natsume gently tried to stay, but clearly being just as stressed as the baby snake.

The large monster snake that had been causing so much trouble had completely froze, a look on it's eyes of shock as he looked down to the two trying to take care of Sugar. Slowly but gently the serpent came closer, but not to attack.

Lowering it's head, it simply gave a gentle nuzzle to Sugar, even giving her a soft kiss on the cheek with a flick of it's large serptine tongue. Sugar's tiny hands grabbed onto the large snake's head, her face lighting up.

"Papa!" Sugar cooed, the group being shocked at the words the tiny shadow snake spoke.

"That giant serpent is your what?" Akinori stated, having slowly gotten back up after being wrecked.

The form of the large snake broke away, fading like black sand in the wind, revealing his true form, being that of a certain humanoid.

"There, there Sugar," Shichimi began, taking hold of the tiny snake from Natsume. "Papa's here now, it's okay..."

"You're...you're her father?" Touma asked, still a bit uneasy from the battle. Shichimi gave a nod to confirm.

"Sorry for the mess I made, I was doing some important duties and the poor thing wandered off," Shichimi apologized, his daughter still snug in his arms.

"It's a good thing we ended up finding her then," Natsume informed, Shichimi's eyes widening. "If she got any further away, who knew what could have happened."

"Thank you for finding and looking after Sugar," Shichimi thanked, giving a gentle but sincere smile, usually a rarity among hardened snake yokai like himself. He got out a key like object, tossing it to Natsume.

"Anyways, I'm Shichimi, an Orochi, which is a type of Goriki yokai," Shichimi introduced himself proper, the eagle from before landing on his forearm and perching elegantly. "And this is Yama, a Golden Eagle and my top scout, from his call I thought something was harming him."

"Well, about that, it was an accident," Natsume filled in, sounding honest. "Had I actually really hurt Yama, I would have patched him up as best I could, heck I've defended animals from bullies before, including birds."

"Don't worry, it's all mangatsika," Shichimi reassured as best he could. ""I was so distressed about my missing daughter and potentially hurt friend that I was not thinking my actions, so we're even."

Whisper stroked his chin, a bit curious and confused to something the snake had mentioned earlier.

"Say, you said something about having to take care of some important business," Whisper began, intrigued. "What did you exactly mean by that, if you don't mind explaining."

"That, well..." Shichimi started, his thoughts starting to focus as he tried to explain just what was going on…

* * *

Elsewhere, within the Yokai World, the blue haired serpent lord was on a bit of a rampage, having not slowed down ever since he recovered. The red parts within his sapphire blue eyes glistened like rubies with a sinister energy. A large, chaotic grin was on his face.

"Heh, it's already starting to come down to this, is it?" Kaira talked to himself, keeping his tone low but with a thread of boastful energy to it. He held his sword to the side, it glistening gently in the light that was starting to fade behind some clouds. A storm was coming, it seemed.

In front of Kaira was a grand palace, the very one the great nobility of the entire Yokai World resided in. It was better known as the Enma palace in some circles, because of the ruling family that was within it's elaborate and fine walls.

"Enma, I'm coming for you!" Kaira yelled, pointing his sword into the direction of the palace and starting to run towards it, making sure not to look back a single time. "I'm coming for not only you, but your head this time!"


	7. The Human and Yokai Heart of the Serpent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Sorry for taking a much than longer hiatus from writing! Some mental issues happened but I'm back again, this time with a pretty long chapter! Hope it's a fun ride for everyone!

 

 

“Basically, I’m a servant of Snake King Kaira, a noble yokai from the Izana tribe,” Shichimi explained, eyes wandering around in slight hesitation. “He was framed for a crime he didn’t commit, so I broke him out.”

 

“Crime he didn’t commit,” Jibanyan remarked. “Sounds all a bit too familiar. Though I didn’t know there was another family of nobles, thought it was the Mikado yokai in charge.”

 

“And you’d be right,” Whisper informed, stroking his non-existent chin. “However, there is a second family of nobility known as the Izana Snake Kings, or just Izana tribe for short, much like how Mikado yokai are better known as the Enma Mikado Kings.”

 

“Yeah, the Izana aren’t exactly in charge,” Shichimi added into the conversation, but rubbing the back of his head. “However, I’ve noticed something...something wasn’t right...”

 

“Something wasn’t right?” Touma asked, Shichimi nodding to confirm.

 

“It’s hard to explain, but there was like...a strange aura around him, one I can’t really confirm,” Shichimi kept going, looking uneasy in thought. “The energy seemed to beat in synchronization with his heart...”

 

“Where did you see Kaira go?” Natsume asked, Shichimi shrugging.

 

“Beats me, but there’s one place we might have to go for clues,” Shichimi stated, starting to stand up. He rummaged for something in his pockets, handing it to his Golden Eagle companion, Yama.

 

“Yama, take these three to the mansion that belongs to the Izana family in the yokai world, located in the Scaleback Ridge Yomakai,” Shichimi informed his eagle friend, giving him a strange train card. While a normal eagle, Yama seemed to be intelligent enough to understand the instructions clearly to take the card into his beak and drop it over to Natsume, staying by the girl’s side.

 

“Usually I can teleport to that yomakai in an emergency, but with a group as big as yours, you’re going to have to take a train there,” Shichimi informed, starting to look like he was about to leave. Akinori put his foot down.

 

“Wait!” Akinori stammered, cutting the snake’s leave short. “You aren’t coming with us?”

 

“I would, but there’s something you might’ve picked up on,” Shichimi told, holding up Sugar in his arms. “Namely, I’m a dad.”

 

“That’s right, you should take time to take care of Sugar,” Natsume reassured, letting Shichimi be on his way. “She’s missed you a lot.”

 

“Chippu!” Sugar cooed, rasing her tiny hand to grasp onto Natsume’s finger briefly. She was too young to have an arc manifest yet, but she liked the human girl, hoping to play with her again sometime.

 

“If the going gets tough, don’t hesitate to use my arc,” Shichimi finished, starting to finally be on his way. “Though uh, not now, busy for the rest of the day.”

 

With that, Shichimi and Sugar were on their ways back to rest and relax, leaving everyone else to figure out a plan to what to do next.

 

“Where are we going to find a yokai train station?” Touma pondered, not having to wait long for an answer as Yama started taking up to the air again, guiding the group.

 

“Looyks lyke we’re gonna’ haft to be followin’ that bird for ansaws,” Cait Sith pointed out with a shrug.

 

The group consisting of both humans and yokai had no choice but to pursue in the direction of the large bird, wondering where it could lead. Could it be to a mystical yokai train station? A hidden place only known by the spirits?

 

Where they were lead to….Was the Sakura Momotachi Station, to he confusion of everyone. Was a normal train really going to get everyone to the specific location in the yokai world?

 

“Uhhh, Yama, I don’t think this is a train station that I’d think the yokai world would use...” Natsume pointed out, reluctantly holding the train card in a shrug. Yama took the card into his beak, flying through and scanning the card.

 

Upon scanning the card, the scenery transformed and shifted to something that looked far more supernatural and a spectral spectacle to behold. Things seemed to be more dark, but highlighted with bright colors to not seem so dreary. Pulling into the station was a train that was very much something belonging to the yokai world; a large red train that looked like a fearsome oni, yet had a strange inviting aura to it.

 

“This is how yokai get around?” Touma asked, Whisper giving a bit of a nod.

 

“Yes, it’s one of many ways, I haven’t taken such a train myself in a long time,” Whisper stated, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “I had come to the human world long before the barrier had fallen, as I’m a war criminal, but I’m sure you don’t want to hear that story, now would you?”

 

“You’re a war criminal?” Cu Sith asked, his ears perking up not in excitement but rather with tension and unease. A low growling could be hears from the normally docile pup. “I’m still sniffing out for a criminal, so I hope you aren’t the one!”

 

“Ehh aye doub’ et,” Cait Sith offered with a shrug. “Crimm’als aren’t usua’y so well dress’ an’ aye don’ tink ol’ fancee soft serv’ ‘ere stol the Elda Bri’ Li’ Mirra”

 

Without any further comments from anyone else, everyone started to board the mysterious train. It was their ticket to the yokai world, hopefully to figure things out regarding Shichimi’s boss…

 

* * *

 

 

The sounds of rubble and glass shattering filled throughout the air. Various guards of all sorts of yokai attempted in vain to stop a streak of blue, but it was clear they were far too fast, far too unmerciful. Even powerful guards were swatted down like flies, as the only thing to beat in the blue streak’s heart was nothing but wrath.

 

“Enma...” Those were the only words spoken by Kaira. His voice seemed normal, but had an air to it that made things seem off.

 

“Y-Y-Your majesty!” A fearful voice from a feline practically shaking in their cyan samurai armor shouted, hurriedly running to a large room that had a desk and a very large, very elaborate throne.

 

Sitting in the throne was a great king with golden spikey hair and ruddy skin, dressed in red and gold. His amber eyes looked in shock to the dark blue cat, who scurried over in fear.

 

“What’s exactly wrong, Bushinyan?” The great king asked, Bushinyan loudly catching his breath.

 

“Great King Enma...You see...He’s...That guy is….” Bushinyan tried to explain, only for the streak of blue to loudly open the doors into the throne room.

 

The blue haired man let out a long laugh, loud enough that echoed through the whole room.

 

“Enma! I’ve found you at long last!” The laughing man shouted, seeming to find victory.

 

“Kaira...” Great King Enma quietly spoke to himself, painted with a serious look. Bushinyan looked over for a moment, eyeing a nearby window.

 

“I’m out of here! I’m not dealing with that guy! Not now, not ever!” Bushinyan yelped, breaking a nearby window with his blade and then jumping out, running for the hills.

 

“Even your own guards know they’re dead meat if they mess with the true king of the yokai world,” Kaira spoke, pointing his blade to Great King Enma. “Now, I’d recommend giving up your throne if you don’t want to perish yourself!”

 

“Kaira...My friend, what’s gotten into you?” Great King Enma asked, wanting to know what was wrong. Something felt wrong. Something felt off.

 

“Are you a fool?” Kaira began to respond with a hiss in his tone, fitting for the serpent king. “I want to rule the yokai world, as well as the human world! It’s in my blood, it’s in my flesh! Now hand over the throne!”

 

Great King Enma was silent for a moment. He knew Kaira grew up rather roughly in his youth, but did it really amount to this? All this wrath? It was understandable that Kaira would feel strong negative emotions for his oppression as a Hanyou, a half human, half yokai, did it really amount to this? So much raw, blind anger and rage….

 

But nevertheless, he didn’t have much of a choice. Concentrating his spiritual energy, he summoned forth a fiery red blade, embers sparking as it was being summoned. The great king held it, looking determined.

 

“If it’s the throne you want, then you’re going to have to beat me for it!” Great King Enma exclaimed very loudly, charging in at Kaira.

 

Sparks flew at their blades of crimson and cobalt clashed, striking with determination in one, and anger in another.

 

The two were truly equals, when Kaira got a strike in, Enma would strike back. Their clash kept on going, with several strikes and slashes between the two kings. Being an even match, nothing seemed to be ready to turn the tides, at least not yet…

 

* * *

 

 

After a brisk train ride and a bit of a walk to a heavily wooded area of the yokai world thanks to the guidance of the eagle Yama, the group found themselves in front of a mansion. It looked a bit worn down, but livable and nice. Nowhere near as abandoned and old as the mansion Natsume befriended Pixie in.

 

“This seems to be the place,” Akinori stated, slowly starting to approach the doors of the run down building. However, as expected, the main doors were tightly locked shut. Natsume and Touma tried their luck as well, but alas, it didn’t seem to work for either of them.

 

“Maybe there’s a key somewhere...” Natsume began, looking under and over anything that could be hiding a key. Bushes, doormats, anything that could hide the key inside. Touma looked at the situation, seeming to click with an idea.

 

“I think I have a good solution to this,” Touma began, hovering his hand over the Ogre Watch, starting to hold onto the dial. Akinori’s eyes widened as the boy scrambled in a panic.

 

“No, not yet! That could be too dangerous!” Akinori responded, quickly standing in front of the door and hastily making a star symbol with his index finger. With a swift motion, the charge of yoki energy was able to break open the door.

 

“Heh, works every time!” Akinori stated with confidence, leading the way into the large mansion.

 

Upon entering, it was easy to see that the interior was nicely kept, seeming to have not suffered from aging as bad as it did on the outside. Naturally, the lights were off, but it seemed to be bright just enough to see rather clearly, yet dim enough that anything could be hiding in the shadows.

 

The foyer had two large snake statues in front of a large flight of stairs to block them off, seeming to twist and bind despite being made of solid marble. Their eyes were like small rubies and sapphires, and their foreheads decorated with a strange gold symbol.

 

While the two boys were looking for clues within the main halls, Natsume was drawn to the statues of the snakes, slowly approaching them. Something about them radiated a tempting energy to touch their heads, even if it seemed like something was amiss.

 

But regardless, Natsume touched the head of the snake with the sapphire eyes. Both of the statues had their eyes glow and their jaws open, a trapdoor swiftly opening under Natsume without her having any time to react.

 

“W-Waaah!” Natsume yelped, falling down.

 

“Natsume!” Akinori and Touma shouted, trying to run into the direction of Natsume, but the trapdoor shut closed faster than they could get to her. This place was truly mysterious, and very dangerous...Was this the right place to find answers, or was it all just a trick?

 

Thankfully for Natsume, the trapdoor didn’t seem to be too much of a great fall, as within moments she was within another room. It seemed to be a lower floor, completely windowless, but bright enough to see around, despite it being a lot more dis-repaired. Dusty portraits of serpentine yokai were on the walls, depicted with fine jewelry and attire of a vaguely Indian decent.

 

At the end of the hallway, there was a final portrait, depicting a beautiful snake woman with violet hair neatly kept with golden jewels and elegant yet warm ruby red eyes. Her tail was a pearl white with cobalt patterns on it, glistening gently.

 

In front of the portrait was a small altar with a box. It had the same symbol as were on the statue’s heads, so it was perhaps a family crest.

 

“Should I really open something with this seal on it again…?” Natsume wondered to herself. She wanted to fight against her curiosity, but it was proving to be quite a challenge.

 

Natsume soon caught eye of something under the box, a small note. It was a bit dusty, but very much readable in clear, fine penmanship.

 

_To whoever finds this, my dear lover Karou, my beautiful son Kaira, please don’t hesitate to open this box. It’ll tell you all you must know and what to do in case of That Fiend…The fiend that has plagued our family for eons…_

 

“So this must be related to Kaira...” Natsume spoke to herself, opening the box without any further hesitation.

 

Having finished the letter, a strange aura could be seen, one that while not made of technology, had a mystical energy that allowed Natsume to see visions from long ago... Told in a way like one would when telling a tale of celestial spirits, or treasures held behind ancient doors...

 

* * *

 

 

Things started in a time long before history could be recorded accurately. It was fuzzy and vague, the sky being plunged in absolute darkness, and several glaring eyes peering among the dark skies. Until finally, a strong light pierced through the dark shadow, letting the sky be free and clear once more.

 

However, five streaks of darkness and a single streak of light flew all across the sky, going to different locations far from one another. It took a bit more time, but eventually, they did all land...

 

One of the shadowy streaks landed in a woodland area near a peaceful village, the darkness streak taking the form of well, something. It was hard to tell among the aged vision of a rising sun, but it radiated with wrath and anger, seeming to have fangs and claws that wanted nothing more than to destroy.

 

And destroy the dark shadow did, taking the flesh from both an innocent yokai and human and twisting it to it’s liking, fueled by both of their inner anger and erasing their previous identities by consuming their soul hearts. Such a being terrorized and shredded those that dared to come into it’s path, soon earning a name by the locals.

 

That being the name of Bakasura.

 

Bakasura kept on destroying, the villagers not daring to enter the woods in fear of the demon.

 

One day brought hope, as one night on a full moon, three travelers arrived, all brothers with serpentine features and traits. They were known as the Izana Snake Brothers, and they were passing through due being exiled by a cruel ruler known as Oni Queen Shuka.

 

Upon hearing the plights, the village sympathized with the brothers, providing them with food and shelter. In passing, the three heard about the foul being known in Bakasura.

 

The eldest of the brothers, Makotoma, rallied his brothers and the village with charisma to vanquish the demon.

 

Kyoufu, the middle of the brothers, had fared against Shuka’s army many times, only being bested by only her finest knights, so he said he would lead the charge with his strength.

 

Finally the youngest brother, Soragane, would devise a plan to weaken Bakasura with his intellect and carefully planned strength from afar.

 

With the combined efforts of the brothers, Bakasura did finally fall at the hands of the brother’s charisma, strength, and wisdom. First being struck by an arrow from Soragane into his weak point, then by Kyoufu using his raw strength to lead a charge, then when it seemed like Kyofu was weakened, Makotoma charged in and landed the finishing strike.

 

Peace was graced upon the long terrorized village at long last.

 

Such a victory, however, came at a price. Bakasura’s spirit could not be truly defeated, so the being was sealed into a gemstone by the effort of the brothers, setting it up with a specific seal.

 

“The only way this foul demon could ever awaken is if one of human and yokai blood were to be born into the Izana family” was the binding given to the gemstone.

 

So eons passed, the wrathful being sealed away for what seemed like all of time.

 

With such a long era of peace, it was easy to forget such a thing. It was eventually assumed that the demon had been completely vanquished by being turned into a gemstone, as peace had been a thing for so long.

 

As a queen of the Izana family in more modern times, Paradmavati, did what the ancient brothers feared, but completely unaware. Her heart was captivated by a human man by the name of Karou. The two fell in deep love, Karou being completely unaware of Paradmavati’s spectral serpentine origins. She had given him a locket she made with a particular gem found in her family’s treasury, but little did she know this was the very gemstone containing the wrathful demon’s soul...

 

One day, Paradmavati retreated back into the Yokai World without warning, as now she had a clutch of five eggs to take care of.

 

Day in and day out, the snake queen kept her eggs warm with the endless compassion in her heart. After all, a yokai could only hatch from their egg if they were shown a great amount of love, and Paradmavati knew that better than anyone. She was determined that even after they hatched, she would keep loving her children very much, moreso than she did prior.

 

But, the spinners of the threads of fate had a differing plan in mind. Perhaps the fate that had the power to end lives went crazy, or perhaps knew the sin Paradmavati unknowingly committed.

 

As when Paradmavati’s children hatched, one by one they each turned out to be empty. Nothing inside, not a single trace of life was left within in those hollowed, shattered shells. Souls she had hoped to raise with only the truest love and affection were completely gone, taken away from the serpent queen.

 

Completely heartbroken Paradmavati was as she watched one by one each of her eggs hatch completely empty with nothing inside. By the fourth one, the poor queen could not bear to look at such a sight anymore. In only mere moments, did someone full of so much joy and love, become someone who could only feel sadness and heartbreak.

 

Was it pathetic that she wanted to spread love and joy to a new generation? did she deserve to be happy? she kept on thinking plenty to herself.

 

However, the final egg provided some hope. As there was something inside, actual life! Slowly the final egg hatched out, struggling to break free. The life within was a charming blue haired humanoid with serpentine features.

 

Poor thing could barely breathe, barely move, struggling to even be alive, but trying his hardest.

 

But, his mother Paradmavati, loved him so dearly anyways. She was overjoyed she was at least given one chance, one child.

 

The queen named her boy Kaira. Even if it was a name she saw in a book, it meant lovely things like charming, attractive, and delightful, which were things she knew Kaira would be one day. She would make sure he was loved and he knew that fact.

 

Even if that came at the cost of her own life.

 

As you see, Kaira’s struggles to live were much more severe than just being a newborn yokai. Because of his mixed yokai and human heritage, his almost entirely yokai soul heart and his mostly human body constantly conflicted with one another, resulting in the poor child only having less than half his soul heart, making it a true challenge to simply live.

 

Upon hearing such news about her newborn child, Paradmavati was speechless, but knew she had to make a major sacrifice. She would be willing to give up major portions of her soul heart, severely cutting her life, to make sure Kaira could live a happy, fulfilling life.

 

Yokai that were brought in for their knowledge of human biology and yokai mythology tried to fight against her words, believing that it would not be worth it and that Paradmavati was just hysterical. But she kept fighting, insisting with her heart it was the absolute right thing to do, as parts of her heart soul would be a perfect match for Kaira. He was her child, after all.

 

And give up parts of her soul heart Paradmavati did. She would not live long enough to see past Kaira’s 15th birthday, but it was a joyous time even if it was short. Even if she passed on, she had faith in her son to be a good king of the Izana family.

 

Life could be hard at times, and Kaira grew up facing many hard things because of his heritage, but she didn’t doubt that the compassion from her soul heart would help her son.

 

* * *

 

 

Natsume could only stand in silence for a few moments after what she had witnessed. It was such a long tale, but one that made sense, one full of happiness and tragedy. Understanding this, an item within the box made itself apparent.

 

Popping out was a tablet that was inscribed with ancient runes, but when Natsume tried to grab it, only for a shockwave to reject her. It wasn’t that painful, probably only as much as getting a small sting of static electricity, but it kept persisting when Natsume kept trying to grab it.

 

“Is...Is this thing made of static electricity or something?” Natsume wondered, feeling a bit confused about all this. She heard the story, didn’t this mean she could get the ancient McGuffin or whatever?

 

“Natsume!” A voice could be heard with a shout, as light started to pour into the old chamber. Poking through was the likes of Akinori, accompanied by Jibanyan in his Shadowside form and the Genma Benkei. The trio jumped down, quickly coming to the aid of Natsume.

 

“What happened here?” Touma asked, having switched out of the Yokai Watch Ogre and letting Benkei rest one more.

 

“Long story, I witnessed a pretty crazy story, and there’s a tablet I think is vital but...” Natsume began, demonstrating the fact she couldn’t grab the tablet. Jibanyan stepped up without another word, effortlessly grabbing it in his much taller Shadowside form.

 

“Dunno what the problem was,” Jibanyan quipped, holding the tablet as he went back into his Lightside form. He held out the tablet and squinted his feline eyes a bit.

 

“Let me see if I can read this thing,” Jibanyan added, grabbing into his haramaki to get a pair of glasses to more clearly see the ancient inscribing. The feline was silent for a moment. “...Oh wait I can’t read.”

 

“Careful with such delicate stonework!” Whisper came floating in, gently taking the stone tablet to look it over. “We wouldn’t want to break such a delicate artifact that isn’t ours!”

 

“Do you think you can crack the code, Whisper?” Natsume questioned, Whisper giving a nod.

 

“Of course, it’s what butlers do best!” Whisper cheerfully responded, trying to scan the runes for translation with his Y-Pad. Slowly the white ghost’s face became more and more uneasy and worried, the translating apps seeming to come up with errors.

 

“...Okay, I’ll admit, ‘ancient mystical tablet decoding’ is something I need to work on in my butler agenda,” Whisper admitted defeated, but still choosing to hold onto the tablet anyways.

 

“Alright, let me see if I can-” Akinori tried to say, only to be given the same kind of shocks Natsume gotten. “Yeouch! What’s with that thing?”

 

“Maybe it’s a yokai only thing?” Touma suggested into the matter.

 

“Guess you’re right, so that marks out any humans who might know about yokai...” Natsume concluded.

 

“If no human can read it, guess our best bet is to just straight up go to the big man himself,” Jibanyan suggested, the group being surprised. “Even if I feel a bit ehh on the kid, Enma should absolutely be able to crack the code.”

 

“Are you crazy!?” Whisper yelled in shock. “We can’t just, waltz on in like we own the place! Because we don’t for starters, and we would have to make an appointment, right!?”

 

“Listen, I’m sure that stone tablet has something important,” Jibanyan added to his stance. “You don’t just give a long mystic presentation and some ancient device, only for it to not be connected to something big and dramatic like how to prevent the incineration of life itself.”

 

“So how are we going to get there?” Natsume asked, Jibanyan folding his arms a bit.

 

“There’s this guy that I’ve heard things about…” Jibanyan answered back, getting everyone out of the basement and leading the way out.

 

It was a bit of a brisk walk, but Jibanyan talked with a few mirror like yokai that lead them to one of the many, many cities in the yokai world. It was a bit tricky to understand, but the red cat went up to a building that read “Yomakai Transportation Co. Main Office” in big, bold letters.

 

“Jiba-nyaaaaan~!” A loud, absolutely wild voice greeted, a figure spinning and landing in front of the red cat yokai with claws ready.

 

This strange, eccentric yokai took the form of a fluffy yet mangy looking calico cat yokai, wearing an elegant kimono that had been worn a bit. Her fur was mostly white, but her paws were black and she had splotches of orange throughout. Half of her face was covered with a Hannya mask, positioned to the side.

 

“Today is the day! The day we duel, I’ve heard all the myths and legends, now let’s-” The Hannya mask donning cat attempted with her speech, Jibanyan giving a sigh and shaking her head.

 

“Hannyan, not today, we’re all kinda in a pinch since we gotta get to Enma’s place and fast. Got any one of your buses or cabs or somethin?” Jibanyan tried to explain.

 

“Eh? You just want a ride? Like a normal ol’ customer?” Hannyan responded, her sharp, jagged fangs gaping open in disbelief. Her face soon scrunched back up.

 

“Heck no! Is that anything like you to refuse a fight? A good scuffle?” Hannyan tried to reason with Jibanyan, Whisper tapping on the red cat’s shoulder.

 

“Are you certain she isn’t actually a gang member and this is just a front?” Whisper asked very concerned. Hannyan took a step back to notice the others with the red feline.

 

“Shoot, you got kids with you? I can’t do business like this, but I’ll make a deal,” Hannyan decided to comply with. “I’ll hail the best bus I got and send your pals over to Enma’s, but you gotta stay here and fight me one on one, got it?”

 

“Jibanyan...” Natsume tried to speak, Jibanyan moving his paw to the side to halt the teen girl from going much further.

 

“It’s fine, I accept your deal,” Jibanyan accepted, Hannyan giving a large toothy grin.

 

“Excellent, Tres Bien, Good!” Hannyan concluded, getting out her cellphone and sending a message. “Your ride will be here shortly, now let’s rumble, Jiba-nyaaaaan!”

 

The trio of teens and Whisper quietly headed outside to wait for their ride. Seemed Cait Sith and Cu Sith might’ve tried to keep their eyes on Junior elsewhere. At least Natsume always had their arks just in case the situation was needed.

 

“...Just...who is that lady?” Touma asked, Whisper offering a shrug.

 

“She seems to be the head of Yomakai Transportation Co, one of the biggest networks of bus and taxi based transportation in all of the Yokai World,” Whisper informed, looking at an article on his Y-Pad. “Despite her….eccentric behaviors, she’s a respected, intelligent, and refined businesswoman. How Jibanyan heard of her is anyone’s guess...”

 

Within moments, a small bus pulled up in front of the office. The doors opened, revealing quite the nicely kept interior that was made of high quality. A run down school bus this was not, this was high class stuff. The driver floated down, wearing a fine tuxedo.

 

“Thank you for using Yomakai Transportation Co, it’s a pleasure to serve you all,” The bus driver got out and greeted, letting everyone in on the bus with a very refined and charismatic flair to him.

 

For how wild Hannyan was, she really did know how to have top notch customer service. It seemed it would only be a matter of time before everyone arrived to Enma’s palace to see what the deal was on that stone tablet...

 

The battle between the two kings raged on, still being at a stalemate. The two seemed to be a bit more worn down.

 

Kaira gave a large grin on his face, starting to speak among a break in their fight.

 

“As the old legend goes, the sun and the moon were evenly matched, being both great and noble warriors from opposing sides that deeply hated one another,” Kaira began with his speech. “However, ultimately, the moon’s mighty bow fell down and killed the sun.”

 

“But didn’t the earth plunge into despair and darkness, the moon swearing to never shoot their bow ever again after being overcome with so much despair?” Great King Enma questioned his old friend’s speech. It was concerning what had gotten into Kaira recently...Was this just his true nature?

 

“Are you saying a world plunged into darkness is not a good thing?” Kaira hissed back harshly, not seeming to care about what Great King Enma had to say in return. “I will make sure history is truly repeated today, with your defeat and the domain of my kingdom!”

 

Enma was swift to get a knock in on Kaira’s jaw, tripping the hanyou up a bit. “No, that’s not going to work...It’ll be horrible, so many things will perish within such cruel darkness...”

 

“Look at you, stammering off in your statements,” Kaira smugly gave his thoughts. “Darkness is all I’ve ever known, it’s simply repayment for what the entire yokai and human societies have done to me! They shamed me, refused to accept me, displayed true levels of disgust… I’m too human to be a yokai, but too supernatural to be a normal human! Revenge is the only option for me!”

 

“Kaira...” Great King Enma began, shaking with his words in trying to find a reason, anything that could speak into his friend’s mind. “Do you think a lifeless world is what you actually want? Besides, if she was still around...”

 

Kaira was a bit puzzled, as Great King Enma began to focus energy as he was covered in violet flames, a third eye awakening as the spiky haired king’s attire became more ornate.

 

“...Is it what your mother would have wanted?” Great King Enma asked in a very harsh, loud tone. “Open your eyes, Kaira!”

 

With a mighty shout, a wave of fiery force managed to knock Kaira back into a nearby pillar, a loud crash being heard. As the smoke cleared from the impact, Great King Enma slowly approached Kaira, who had fallen onto his back shortly after being thrown into the pillar.

 

“En...Enma...” Kaira weakly spoke, the fiery king reverting back into his normal form as he heard the words of his friend. This time, they sounded genuine and true, like the Kaira the great king has always known.

 

“What is it, Kaira?” Great King Enma asked, Kaira struggling to keep his eyes open.

 

“I...I don’t have a lot of time to explain...But you’re going to have to take my heart soul out of my body for now, keep it safe, and run...” Kaira choked up, his voice sounding weak. “It’s the...the only way to save me...”

 

“W-What do you mean?” Great King Enma asked in confused shock. “You know if a soul heart leaves a yokai’s body, they die!”

 

“Trust me on this... I have a mostly human body...” Kaira advised, his eyes looking serious. “If it gets a hold of my soul heart... I’m finished... I’m gone...”

 

Great King Enma knew he had to just trust his friend’s word and not ask what exactly ‘it’ is right now. He had to focus his energy to save his friend no matter what right now.

 

Once again, Great King Enma put his energy into absolute focus once more, concentrating on the soul heart within to find it and bring it out. With enough focus, Great King Enma was able to bring out Kaira’s Soul Heart.

 

Unlike when a yokai’s soul is completely doused in blue flames when one is trying to regain their physical form, a Soul Heart was much more easy to see, as it’s flame coating was only very faint. The Soul Heart of Kaira itself was a traditional heart shaped form of energy, being a shade of royal blue, but what truly set it apart was it appeared to have some off-colored, more saturated sections that were fixed with something that resembled the repairing art of kintsugi.

 

Taking the word of his friend, Great King Enma silently rushed over to his desk to find something to put Kaira’s Soul Heart into, a simple jar sealed with a cork, and put it within there to keep it safe.

 

Moments of peace would finally grace the great king of the yokai world, a much needed silence in the midst of a strange fight.

 

“My apologies for our rudeness, but is there where we-” The charismatic voice of a particular yokai butler interrupted the scene, looking quite embarrassed when he opened the rather loose door.

 

Great King Enma turned and noticed the group lead by Whisper, everyone looking shocked as he slowly started to walk over.

 

“Crap, he’s noticed us...” Akinori quipped quietly.

 

“O-Our apologies once again, your majesty, it seems you’re quite uhh, busy with something,” Natsume spoke up to make things less awkward, at least that’s what she hoped. “But this place is pretty empty and we didn’t know where to go for an appointment.”

 

Upon approaching the group, Great King Enma looked surprised for a moment. He had seen the faces of hundreds upon thousands of humans and yokai alike, but the likes of Whisper and his ilk always stood out.

 

“It seems you’re still treating Fumika well, Whisper,” Great King Enma spoke up, closing his eyes for a bit. “You truly are a butler who sticks until the bitter end.”

 

“Actually I’m Natsume Amano, Fumika’s my mom, actually...” Natsume corrected, Great King Enma’s eyes shooting back open.

 

“Y-You’re her daughter?” Great King Enma nearly stumbled over his words, seeming a bit on the flustered side. “Time goes by doesn’t it huh? First an old friend in a polyamorous marriage...now this...”

 

“Anyways, long story short, is it possible you can decode this ancient tablet we found?” Whisper decided to get to the point, even at the cost of being a more than awkward interruption.

 

“Hmm...I suppose...” Great King Enma answered, taking a look at the old tablet, gazing at the ancient stone runes carved neatly in place.

 

“From what I can tell, this is from the Shuka Era, and it’s surprising to see something like this be kept nicely as a lot of the artifacts from such ancient times have been lost, after an incident called The Second Darkening...” Great King Enma began to analyze. “It was written by Soragane of the Izana Snake Brothers, youngest and wisest among them...It details...hmm?”

 

“What does it say?” Natsume asked, Enma looking back from the tablet shocked.

 

“It details a type of sealing ritual it seems, as an emergency way of protection...”

 

“That’s convenient because well, things ain’t looking too good,” Akinori directed everyone’s attention to what was causing a great amount of fuss.

 

Everyone’s attention was brought over to a dark aura consuming Kaira’s body, the still, motionless body starting to move around once again. But something was off in some places, the snake king’s body being jerked around wildly like a ragdoll trying to fit into an odd outfit.

 

Soon Kaira’s weird motions stopped, his silhouette being hard to see among the jet black smoke that consumed most of his body.

 

“This body lacks a Soul Heart...” Kaira began to spoke, but it was clear who was speaking was not Kaira. The voice now possessing the king’s friend was far deeper, being strained and raspy with a dangerously angry energy. Though, it wasn’t gravely like one would expect, as there was at least a sliver of sophistication in the speech.

 

“...But the yokai and human yoki within this body are good enough for now, all I’ll need is to consume Soul Hearts to truly awaken again,” The voice commenting, ending on a bit of a sick chuckle. “While I can’t get to it, I can feed off of the wrathful yoki made by the memories kept in the brain of this body...”

 

“…Just who are you?” Great King Enma made an attempt to question the figure, clutching the bottle keeping Kaira’s Soul Heart and the stone tablet very tightly.

 

The voice merely puppeting Kaira’s body gave a very unhinged, wild laugh.

 

“Fuhahahahahahahaha! Utter peasants you all are! With all your blabbering and being a fine king, I’d think you might’ve caught on, but I see your thought process is like that of a slug, so let me introduce myself!” The voice shouted, the black smoke clearing off of Kaira’s body, revealing something rather unsightly.

 

Kaira’s main body was the same, but it was twisted in several aspects. His attire remained mostly the same, but looking more wild and tattered. The once red belt that had two, long distinct ends now didn’t end with simple cloth, but rather with snakes. In fact, the fluffy boa he had had been twisted into a large, horrifying python that gently coiled around the king’s body. The snake king wore a bit more jewelry, wearing a simple but elegant crown on his head.

 

At least, it would have been an elegant crown had the center jewel not been a single glaring eye, which brings attention to Kaira’s face. It was the same, but dark circles under his eyes being much more pronounced, and his eyes being the most haunting thing about him. They were hollow of any life and expression they might’ve had, being completely pitch black. No sign of pupils, irises, just a great dark void of a sclera.

 

“Perhaps a remix might be in style for now. Call me Bakasura Kaira!” The being properly introduced himself. He picked up the sword of the snake king, it being engulfed by flames of darkness the moment he touched his blade again.

 

“Now! Any last words before I slaughter you lot and claim my rightful throne?” Bakasura Kaira asked with a cocky grin on his face. Natsume soon stood up, taking note of how Great King Enma wasn’t exactly doing his best.

 

“I have quite a speech to tell you, snake king,” Natsume began, inserting an arc into the Elder Watch and turning it counterclockwise. “Shadow” could be heard from the watch in a demonic voice as Natsume hovered over several arcs.

 

“Now, summoning my friends! Komasan! Big Ears! Cu Sith!” Natsume called out, a large shadow casting in front of her as the four yokai started to manifest. Komasan with his fiery mane and fangs, Big Ears showing his sharp smile and huge claws, Cu Sith bearing his glowing eyes past his unkept fur…

 

Though amongst all the summoning, there was an extra among it all.

 

“Jii-tan is here!” Junior chirped, appearing alongside the fairy dog and cat, much to their confusion.

 

“J-Junior? This might be a dangerous fight,” Cu Sith warned, his fierce eyes looking concerned. “You were supposed to stay behind!”

 

“Ay ol’ Cu, donncha woraye abou’et,” Big Ears reassured, stepping up into a fighting stance. “Ain’ noythan too dangerouss’ fer ol’ mae!”

 

“Tsk, then bring it on!” Bakasura Kaira yelled, lunging his dark forged blade at the group of yokai.

 

Big Ears was caught a bit off guard, but being the cat he was, managed to backflip and do a hand stand, putting his strength into his legs to deliver a hefty kick to the possessed snake king’s jaw. It wasn’t strong enough to knock him back, but was enough to make him loose his balance, at least a little bit.

 

“Haaah! Take this!” Bakasura Kaira shouted, delivering a hefty slash to Big Ears, truly flinging the fairy cat a ways back.

 

“Oi! Yae can’t keel mae! Aye’va got nyne laives yae know!” Big Ears cursed, the impact forcing him to turn back into his Lightside form of Cait Sith.

 

Cu Sith was a bit more effective, lunging from behind with a strong tackle. Usually such a thing might be seen as ineffective, but for a large fairy wolf dog, it could do some damage.

 

“Get off of me, you foul mutt!” Bakasura Kaira yelped, trying to get up despite the large dog trying to keep him pinned.

 

“Komasan, now!” Cu Sith gave the cue to the other dog yokai, the snow white komainu charging in with his azure mane ablaze.

 

“Take this!” Komasan shouted, blue fire soon being close enough to Bakasura Kaira, and Cu Sith grabbed the snake with his jaw and threw him into the fire like an old rug.

 

While Bakasura Kaira was down, Great King Enma’s eyes had widened, beforeclosing as he put the tablet aside. “Alright, I think I’ve cracked the code.”

 

“You have?” Natsume asked, Great King Enma nodding.

 

“Alright seems the ritual for sealing the foul demon is something like this; there’s a very particular weak spot that needs to be struck, and then harnessing the possessing powers of starlight yoki, it can be sealed,” Great King Enma explained, before biting his lip a little bit. “But, those who can wield such yoki are very rare, not even I have such ability.”

 

“Even if we don’t have the power, we can at least try, right?” Touma reassured as best he could.

 

“Yeah! I’m no magic tower dwelling wizard, but I know a thing or two about yoki energy!” Akinori more enthusiastically reassured.

 

Things would have to be acted out soon, as the spirital flames Komasan had set up were soon blown away by a strong gust of ominous wind, and Bakasura Kaira back up onto his feet.

 

“Idiots...Fools...Did you really think you could try to defeat me like this?” Bakasura Kaira angrily hissed, his body seeping with anger. He didn’t flinch, even as Cu Sith tried to tackle back at him. The large snake around Kaira’s shoulders began to move, biting down on one of Cu Sith’s back ankles and throwing him in a similar manner to how he was throw, crashing the wolf dog right into Komasan.

 

“Hmph, if you wanna play dirty, Jii-tan can too!” Junior huffed, not being particularly pleased by the possessed snake king making quick work. Bakasura Kaira only offered a laugh in return.

 

“And just what do you plan to do, you weak scraping that barely qualifies as a yokai?” Bakasura Kaira questioned in a mocking tone, not even slightly intimidated by Junior.

 

“I plan on doing this!” Junior yelled, puffing up his little cheeks to transform a bit, shape shifting into a fairly large red python. However, it had some...interesting qualities to it, such as having a rather long snout, small eyes with black pupils, and what seemed to be a light, fuzzy coating. It seemed Junior only really vaguely knew what a snake looked like, or he was just mixing ideas at this point with his imperfect shape shifting.

 

The large, fuzzy python wasted no time, grabbing Bakasura Kaira by the ankles and starting to slither. Despite the size, Junior was able to go really fast, coiling up a pillar and dangling the possessed king at a large height.

 

“W-What is the meaning of this! Let me go right this instant you...you oversized worm!” Bakasura Kaira demanded to know, Junior only biting down harder and shaking him in such a way it caused him to drop his sword. Bakasura Kaira flailed, trying to punch the red snake, but it was no use.

 

“Alright...Let’s try doing this!” Akinori stated, starting to become more serious as he focused as hard as he could on his spiritual energy. Touma took note, spinning the dial on the Yokai Watch Ogre.

 

“Summoning, Yoshitsune!” Touma yelled, pressing the side button on the Ogre Watch. A voice chimed, saying “Six O’Clock, Yoshitsune” as the boy’s eyes went from a deep brown to a glowing green. “Lend me your wisdom!” Touma finished the speech, and within a blink of an eye, he traded places with Yoshitsune.

 

“Hmm...” Yoshitsune hummed to himself, taking note of the situation at hand. Was it a bit ridiculous? Absolutely, a large fuzzy python dangling an evil demon using a hanyou’s body to move was a sight alright.

 

But, the green clad Genma didn’t have time to comment or especially focus on the ridiculousness of the situation. He closed his yellow eyes, focusing. He could see yoki energy readings, much like a heat map in the human world. Things looked mostly normal, aside from an obviously massive patch of darkness. Focusing harder, Yoshitsune was able to see the particular spot that could unchain the darkness from the innocent host.

 

“Now! Begone foul demon!” Yoshitsune announced as he opened his eyes, rushing up to Bakasura Kaira with lightning speeds. He pulled out a shorthand sword, striking Bakasura Kaira’s chest in a very particular way. It seemed to be nothing more than light tapping, but soon the dark aura that gave Bakasura Kaira his form started to smoke up again, leaving the body of Kaira. It floated and floated, until finally taking a vague form…

 

“W-What is that thing!?” Natsume stammered at the sight.

 

The form of the being was like if dark clouds full of the rage of storm gods could float and manifest. The being had a few solid areas as well, forming as white hot claws and fangs. It had only one eye, glaring in blood red.

 

The way the being moved and spoke was unlike anything in the human world or the yokai world.

 

“I am Eris, an aspect of Nyx,” The being, Eris, introduced itself. “I was formed from countless bloodshed and anger only fueled by petty causes and revenge...”

 

“So...So you’re...” Great King Enma asked, Eris not seeming to move it’s fang covered mouth as it spoke.

 

“I wanted to use that Karou man as a host, but his energy was unacceptable despite wearing my necklace,” Eris explained. “But that Kaira boy was more than enough, there was so much delicious desire for wrathful revenge, and I could have used more of it...”

 

Eris soon noticed the Soul Heart Great King Enma was keeping close to him, the wrathful being’s eyes widening. “Give me that! That’s this body’s Soul Heart! It oozes with so much deep compassion I could just feast on and destroy instantly!”

 

Akinori stepped up, holding a prayer slip into his hand. “Well, you’re going to have to get through me first!”

 

“Out of the way, fatty! The energy in that Soul Heart is so powerful, I must devour it!” Eris simply said, only for the prayer slip to land right on it’s head and covering it’s eye. It was confused, as not only could it see, but the raw holy energy was like squirting lemon juice into one’s eye, but at least ten times more painful.

 

“I’m not done yet, now take this, spawn of evil that needs eye drops!” Akinori followed up, pointing both of his index fingers as they glowed with a strong, nearly blinding yoki energy. He formed two stars with them, the stars starting to spin faster and faster.

 

“By the power of the stars, seal this foul being! Crystal Starlight Seal!” Akinori finished, the two star shapes flying at Eris like they were heat seeking missiles. A foul, distorted loud screech could be heard from Eris, as it was struck by the light.

 

All that remained of Eris was a gemstone, very similar to the one described as the Bakasura Gem, being a blood red, oval shaped jewel that glared with anger and wrath. Akinori nonchalantly picked up the jewel, tossing it around.

 

“So, that’s that for Eris,” Akinori quipped, Yoshitsune following by his side as he changed back for Touma.

 

Junior brought over the now spiritually freed Kaira, transforming back as well. “Owie...Jii-tan’s jaws hurt...”

 

Great King Enma rushed over to Kaira, freeing open his Soul Heart again and letting it go back into his friend’s body.

 

A few silent moments passed, Great King Enma even wondering if it worked. But, soon enough, life and energy began to flow back into Kaira’s body, the snake king’s eyes slowly waking up again.

 

“It feels...weird to be back in my own body again...” Kaira commented, clearly quite dizzy. He was caught a bit off guard by Great King Enma giving him a hug.

 

“Thank goodness it worked, and you’re alright...” Great King Enma responded, his words being quiet but still filled with plenty of joy.

 

“I can’t believe you were that worried about me” Kaira responded with, giving a smile. “You usually aren’t one to get so worked up and concerned.”

 

“Of course I was worried! You’re someone I care about deeply as...a friend...” Great King Enma responded, seeming to slip up a bit on the last part, as if he intended for something else to be stated.

 

The two kept enjoying each other’s company for a little while, before Great King Enma helped Kaira back up, handing him the stone tablet.

 

“Here, I believe this was an artifact of your family’s, yes?” Great King Enma prompted, Kaira looking over the tablet.

 

“Seems like it, this is the writing of the ancestors of the Izana Snake Family,” Kaira responded, taking the tablet. He and Great King Enma looked over to the teens.

 

“So it was thanks to your efforts that demon was sealed away...” Great King Enma thanked the three.

 

“I wasn’t expecting to ever fight anything like Eris, I can never imagine the full power it could have had,” Natsume answered.

 

“Yeah, the full power of something like that could have been really dangerous, we woulda been absolutely goners,” Akinori commented with a shrug. Touma looked off a bit.

 

“Given how Eris stated it was merely an aspect of Nyx, there’s undoubtedly more of them out there...” Touma added in, seeming a bit worried. Natsume put her hand on his shoulder.

 

“If there’s another five or five hundred pieces of Nyx, we’ll do our best and stand strong to face them,” Natsume reassured her friends, holding out her watch. “I have the Elder Watch, you have the Ogre Watch, and Akinori has his yoki magic.”

 

Natsume looked over to Great King Enma and Kaira, giving a reassuring smile. “You can count on us to make sure these aspects of Nyx never get close to you again, both of your majesties!”

 

“We’re sure of that, please keep your head up high no matter what,” Great King Enma responded to Natsume’s reassurance, the trio on their merry way.

 

Who knows where the rest of the aspects of Nyx were, and where they were choosing to dwell. But the three had a good idea where some others might be, and it wouldn’t be too far from home to find them and defeat them...


End file.
